LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  Of  CALIFORNIA 


HUMAN 
ENGINEERING 

A  STUDY  OF  THE  MANAGEMENT 
OF  HUMAN  FORCES  IN  INDUSTRY 


BY 


EUGENE  WERA,  M.E.,E.E. 

INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEER;  ASSOCIATE  MEMBER  OF  THE 
SOCIETY  07  MECHANICAL  ENGINEERS 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1921 


PREFACE 

The  present  unrest  in  the  world  of  labor  is  due  partly 
to  temporary  causes.  Among  them  appear  an  increase 
in  the  cost  of  living  which  results  mainly  from  inflation 
of  currency;  the  desire  of  certain  groups  of  laborers  to 
share  in  the  extortionate  prices  which  their  employers 
have  been  allowed  to  charge;  the  demoralization  result- 
ing from  the  excitement  and  changes  caused  by  the  war ; 
and  the  dissemination  of  radical  propaganda.  But  the 
present  unrest  is  not  due  chiefly  to  circumstances  of  the 
moment ;  it  is  due  more  to  deep-rooted  aspirations  which 
mark  a  stage  in  the  actual  evolution  of  society. 

Society  is  in  a  continual  state  of  evolution,  but  its 
different  groups  have  never  progressed  equally.  Dis- 
cordance has  separated  the  groups  and  caused  issues  to 
arise  which  are  not  clear  to  us  because  we  interpret  them 
more  or  less  by  means  of  outworn  ideas,  prepossessions 
of  the  past,  which  confuse  our  understanding  of  new 
principles.  Consequently,  conflicts  between  past  beliefs 
and  present  truths  have  brought  about  strained  industrial 
and  social  situations. 

The  issues  that  depend  upon  the  industrial  problem 
have  not  been  determined  by  the  will  of  any  group 
of  men.  They  have  arisen  out  of  the  very  nature  and 
circumstances  of  industrial  development.  They  are  now 
clouded  by  the  difficulty  of  readjustment  to  after-war 
conditions,  but  a  careful  analysis  makes  it  clear  that  they 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

cannot  be  settled  by  mere  economic  compromise.  A  stable 
settlement  requires  a  scientific  treatment  of  human  forces 
and  the  establishment  of  a  new  relationship  among  the 
competing  parties — labor,  capital,  and  society — which  will 
liberate  the  vital  aspirations  of  a  progressive,  industrial 
population.  We  must  recognize  the  facts  as  they  are  and 
interpret  their  meaning  not  merely  in  the  light  of  past 
experience,  but  in  the  light  of  the  requirements  of  a 
future  social  order  where  the  position,  rights,  and  duties 
of  every  one  will  be  more  clearly  defined  and  hence  more 
willingly  accepted. 

The  popular  conception  of  the  purpose  of  industry  is 
the  realization  of  profits ;  but,  as  society  has  progressed, 
the  modern  conception  has  added  social  service.  These 
two  conflicting  conceptions  have  created  a  chronic  state 
of  conflict  between  personal  and  social  interests,  and, 
consequently,  have  caused  industrial  troubles.  The  old 
school  of  management,  on  the  one  hand,  does  not  regard 
laborers  as  human  beings;  the  modern  school  of  manage- 
ment, on  the  other,  recognizes  laborers  as  human  beings 
and  has  sought  to  get  their  goodwill.  But  in  spite  of 
the  progress  which  modern  management  has  realized,  it 
has  failed  to  remove  the  distressing  unrest  of  labor  be- 
cause it  has  managed  industry  only  for  the  personal 
benefit  of  both  employer  and  employed.  It  has  ignored 
labor  as  a  social  group  and  has  disregarded  the  social 
purpose  of  industry.  The  obsoleteness  and  one-sidedness 
of  such  a  method  suggest  the  need  for  a  new  principle — 
that  of  stimulating  labor  as  a  whole  toward  production 
at  large  for  social  purposes.  The  presentation  of  this 
principle  is  the  object  of  Human  Engineering. 

The  theory  of  what  we  call  human  engineering  is  not 
intended  for  any  particular  country,  though  its  applica- 


PREFACE  ix 

tion  is  best  adapted  to  America  because  this  country  is 
the  most  advanced  in  democracy.  It  is  not  destructive  of 
existing  evils;  it  is  a  positive  and  constructive  manage- 
ment of  human  forces  for  a  natural  promotion  of  greater 
democracy.  Human  engineering  has  been  based  upon  the 
universal  traits  rooted  in  human  character,  in  accord- 
ance with  leading  ideas  in  business,  economics,  psychol- 
ogy, sociology,  and  ethics. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  not  to  advocate  a  par- 
ticular system  of  control  of  production  or  a  transforma- 
tion of  society.  It  is  to  discover  the  principles  of  evolu- 
tion in  industry  and  to  apply  them  to  progress.  It  is 
also  to  study  the  governing  human  forces  behind  facts, 
for  the  knowledge  of  these  forces  is  essential  in  order 
to  see  facts  in  their  true  relation  to  the  whole  process 
of  evolution. 

The  first  part  comprises  a  study  of  the  evolution  of 
the  ideas  governing  industrial  relations  and  shows  how 
the  change  of  ideas  has  been  reflected  in  the  development 
of  trade  unions,  labor  parties,  socialism,  state  socialism, 
and  cooperatives — means  employed  to  counterbalance  the 
growing  combinations  of  capital.  Since  none  of  these 
movements  has  been  able  to  solve  the  industrial  problem, 
it  is  important  to  understand  their  deficiencies  and  dangers 
to  society. 

The  second  part  interprets  the  essentials  of  present 
issues,  presents  recent  democratic  tendencies,  and  develops 
a  typical  organization  for  class  cooperation  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  proportional  representation. 

The  third  part  gives  a  brief  analysis  of  the  different 
psychological  associations  of  men  involved  in  industry. 
It  applies  what  modern  sociology  has  discovered  concern- 
ing the  characteristics  of  the  different  associations,  such 


x  PREFACE 

as  the  crowd,  the  public,  the  sect,  and  the  corporation,  a 
knowledge  of  which  has  become  essential  in  handling  col- 
lectivities, that  is,  organized  groups  of  men.  Further,  it 
discloses  the  forces  that  control  human  behavior  in  its 
relation  to  industry  and  shows  how  to  manage  these 
forces. 

The  fourth  part  attempts  to  determine  the  principles 
of  human  engineering  and  practically  to  apply  them  to 
motivation  of  labor  for  cooperation  with  other  social 
groups. 

The  conclusion  states  that  no  fundamental  transforma- 
tion of  industry  or  society  is  needed  to  attain  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  industrial  problems.  A  logical  development 
of  our  institutions  can  accomplish  it. 

The  method  followed  is  a  purely  scientific  survey  of 
the  different  tendencies  of  the  spiritual  forces  involved  in 
industry,  in  order  to  discover  what  these  tendencies  mean 
and  how  they  can  be  coordinated  into  a  living  relation- 
ship with  one  another.  For  these  spiritual  forces  com- 
prehend all  mental  faculties  and  powers  of  man,  in- 
tellectual, spiritual,  moral,  and  sentimental,  which  govern 
all  phases  of  human  life. 

A  survey  of  the  evolution  of  radical  ideas  has  also 
been  made,  not  to  spread  propaganda,  but  to  set  forth  the 
actual  sequence  of  social  phenomena.  If  we  observe 
social  phenomena,  as  the  chemist  observes  reactions  in  his 
test  tube,  we  see  how  proper  motivation  secures  the  good- 
will of  labor  and  how  Czarism  produces  Bolshevism  as 
surely  as  sulphuric  acid  with  a  base  produces  sulphate. 

I  have  used  the  conclusions  of  many  specialists  in  differ- 
ent sciences,  for,  from  the  complexity  of  the  problem,  I 
cannot  be  a  specialist  in  all.  Hence,  there  are  many  op- 
portunities for  errors  of  detail.  In  this  first  attempt  to 


PREFACE 


XI 


present  human  engineering  as  a  science,  I  have  made  no 
effort  to  build  up  a  special  terminology;  the  science  of 
human  forces  is  too  new  and  is  still  too  imperfect  for  me 
to  undertake  the  settlement  of  its  forms.  Consequently, 
I  do  not  insist  upon  the  letter  of  my  statements.  I  have 
merely  ascertained  the  main  features  of  development  of 
industry  and  made  of  them  a  sketch  which  embodies  the 
essentials  of  a  universal  relationship  of  personal,  indus- 
trial, and  social  lives. 

In  support  of  my  contentions  I  have  quoted  freely 
from  the  most  recent  special  literature,  but  the  sub- 
stance of  this  work  has  been  inspired  by  a  quarter-century 
of  industrial  life.  So  my  thesis  is  not  a  mere  logical 
structure;  it  is  the  result  of  the  impress  of  millions  of 
facts,  and  is  an  intuitive  response  spontaneously  evolved 
from  observation  of  the  tragedy  of  labor.  Moreover,  I 
have  learned  the  meaning  of  realities  by  experience  in 
active  association  with  the  actual  lives  of  several  widely 
differing  peoples. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  Dr.  Lee  Galloway  for  his  en- 
couragement and  suggestions,  and  to  Mr.  Ernest  Scott 
Quimby,  whose  help  in  revising  my  manuscript  and  cor- 
recting my  English  has  been  invaluable. 

EUGENE  WERA 


CONTENTS 


PACK 

PREFACE       >•    »•    ••••••»• .    ^    >-    w    .     vii 


PART  I 

PSYCHOLOGICAL  EVOLUTION  OF 
INDUSTRY 

CHAPTER 

I.  COOPERATION     ....     ,rr!H    .'.•.'-'.    .    .    v    .    .  3 

1.  Definition        3 

2.  The  Scope  of  Cooperation 5 

3.  The  Need  for  Cooperation  in  Production     ...  9 

II.  INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION n 

4.  Evolution   of   Industry 11 

5.  Evolution  of  Capital 14 

6.  Evolution  of  the  Status  of  Labor    .......  18 

Isolation  of  the  Worker 18 

Security  of  the  Worker     .     .     .n  )£. '  .  '.     .     .  19 

Safety       .     .     .    ^..^     *  ,.  .,.,.,    ....  19 

Old  Age :.'i.v:wo '^  «i-  _  22 

Minimum  Wages  and  Unemployment      ...  22 

III.  EVOLUTION  OF  ATTITUDES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL    ...  25 

7.  Original  Attitudes  of  Master  and  Servants    ...  25 

8.  Reaction    of    Labor 28 

9.  Paternalism 31 

10.  Autocratic   Leadership 33 

IV.  EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT 38 

11.  Traditional    Management 38 

12.  Systematized   Management 39 

13.  Scientific   Management 40 

14.  Foremanship        43 

15.  Employment    Management     ,u  *'    • 44 

A  New  Profession 44 

Selection       .     .     .     .   V  .,  •/,  v  ., 48 

V.  COMPETITION  vs.  MONOPOLY 50 

16.  Competition 5° 

17.  Combinations S2 

ziii 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTES  PACE 

18.  Monopoly       

19.  Present  Tendencies 

VI.  TRADE  UNIONS 58 

20.  Origin  of  Unionism 58 

21.  The  Struggle  of  Unions 60 

22.  American  Trade  Unionism 62 

Political   Attitude 62 

Policies 63 

New   Status 65 

VII.  SOCIALISM 66 

23.  Origin  of  Socialism 66 

24.  Political   Socialism 67 

Evolution  of  Dogmatism  into  Opportunism     .     .  67 

Platform  of  Modern  Socialism 68 

25.  Revolutionary  Syndicalism 71 

Origin 71 

Characteristics  of  Syndicalism 72 

American  Syndicalism 76 

Bolshevism        77 

VIII.  STATE  SOCIALISM 79 

26.  Origin  of  State  Socialism 79 

27.  Development  of  State  Socialism 80 

28.  Deficiency  of  State  Socialism 81 

29.  Conclusion 83 

IX.  THE  COOPERATIVE  MOVEMENT 85 

30.  Origin  of   the  Cooperative   Movement      ....  85 

31.  Characteristics  of  the  Cooperative  Movement     .     .  86 

32.  Classes  of  Cooperatives 86 

33.  Influence  of   Cooperatives 88 

34.  Causes  of  Success 90 


PART  II 
THE  OUTLOOK 

X.    THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM 95 

35.  Gaims  of  Labor 95 

Responsibility  of  Capital 95 

Economic  Partnership 96 

Partnership  in  Management 96 

36.  Claimants  to  the  Proceeds  of  Industry     ....  97 

Capital 97 

Labor 99 

Society 100 

The  Eight  Parties 100 


CONTENTS  xv 


37.  Object  of  Claim 101 

38.  The  Title  of  the  Entrepreneur  to  Profits  .     .     .     .  101 

39.  The  Title  of  Laborer  to  Profits 103 

40.  Profit  Sharing     ...     .1 104 

41.  Sharing  in  Efficiency 105 

42.  Functions  of  Profits 105 

XL    THE  NEW  STATUS  OF  LABOR 107 

43.  Reconciliation  of  Conflicting  Tendencies  ....  107 

44.  Collective  Bargaining 108 

45.  Fluctuation  of  Supply  and  Demand 109 

46.  Sharing    Prosperity no 

47.  Sharing  in  Social  Surplus 112 

48.  Welfare  Institutions  as  the  Share  of  Labor    .     .     .  113 

Industrial  Betterment 113 

Social   Betterment 114 

XII.  MEANING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  MANAGEMENT 115 

49.  Principles  of  Autocracy 115 

50.  Principles   of   Democracy 116 

The  New  Meaning  of  Industry 117 

Building  Men        119 

Equality  of  Opportunity 120 

Cooperation  Implies  Consent 122 

Partnership  of  Classes 124 

XIII.  LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  ENGLAND 126 

51.  Works   Committees  in   England 126 

52.  Shop   Steward   Movement 127 

53.  The  Whitley  Report 129 

54.  Object  of  the  Organization 131 

55.  Constitution  of  Industrial  Government     ....  133 

56.  Functions  of  Works  Committees 134 

57.  Present  Extension 136 

58.  Objections  to  the  British  Plan 136 

XIV.  LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA 139 

59.  Development  of  Labor  Representation     ....  139 

60.  War  Labor  Board  Plan 140 

61.  Industrial    Democracy 142 

62.  Works  Councils 144 

63.  Results 144 

64.  Discussion 146 

65.  Local  vs.  National  Organization 147 

Contrast 147 

The  Unit  Organization 150 

Deficiency  of  the  Unit  Organization 150 

Evolutions  of  Unions 151 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CRArrra  TAG* 

XV.  FUNCTIONS  OF  COOPERATIVE  MANAGEMENT 153 

66.  A  Positive  Attitude  is  Essential 153 

67.  Judicial    Organization         153 

68.  Labor's    Responsibility 155 

69.  Employer's    Responsibility 156 

70.  Leadership 157 

71.  Differentiation  of  Interests 159 

Local   Interests 160 

Industrial  Interests 160 

72.  Constitution 161 

XVI.  COMMITTEE   ORGANIZATION 163 

73.  Proportional    Representation 163 

74.  Committee  Organization 166 


PART  III 
ELEMENTS  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

XVII.  THE  COLLECTIVITY  vs.  THE  INDIVIDUAL 177 

75.  Introduction         177 

76.  Personality 179 

77.  Morality 180 

78.  Beliefs        183 

XVIII.  THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT    . 186 

79.  Types  of  Associations        186 

80.  The  Crowd 187 

81.  The  Public 190 

82.  The  Sect 192 

83.  The  Corporation 194 

84.  Applying  Morality  to  Industry 196 

XIX.  LIFE  AS  AN  END  IN  ITSELF 198 

85.  Essential  Cause  of  Unrest 198 

86.  The  Individualistic  Life     . 198 

87.  The  Insignificance  of   Industrial   Life      ....  199 

88.  The  Spirit  of  Cooperation 199 

89.  The  Real   Profit 200 

90.  Life  is   Progress 200 

91.  Collective  Life 201 

92.  Forms   of    Progress 202 

Personal  Progress 202 

Collective  Progress 202 

XX.  LOYALTY       204 

93.  Nature  of  Loyalty 204 

94.  Building  Loyalty 206 

Loyalty  to  the  Concern 206 

Loyalty  to  the  Industrial  System 207 


CONTENTS  xvii 


XXI.  IDEALS 210 

95.  Definition  of  Ideals 210 

96.  Placing  Ideals 213 

97.  Functions  of  Ideals 213 

98.  Formation  of  Ideals 215 

XXII.  MOTIVES  OF  CONDUCT 218 

99.  Is  Conduct  Controllable? 218 

100.  Sources  of  Motives 219 

101.  Classification   of   Desires 222 

102.  Outside   Influences 223 

XXIII.  INFLUENCE  OF  OUR  ANIMAL  NATURE  ON  CONDUCT     .  227 

103.  Biotic   Logic 227 

104.  Pleasure  as  a  Dynamic  Factor 228 

XXIV.  INFLUENCE  OF  SENTIMENT  ON  CONDUCT 230 

105.  Characteristics  of  Sentiment 230 

106.  Independence  of  Feeling  and  Reason      ....  232 

107.  Function  of  Sentiment 233 

108.  Field  of  Sentiment 235 

XXV.  INFLUENCE  OF  BELIEF  ON  CONDUCT 239 

109.  Mystical  Nature 239 

no.     Belief  vs.  Knowledge      ....     .     ;: -.     .     .  241 

in.    Development   of    Beliefs 242 

112.  Field  of  Mystical  Beliefs 244 

XXVI.  INFLUENCE  OF  REASON  ON  CONDUCT 247 

113.  Intellectual   Nature      ....   f j'JJMirL-    •     •  247 

114.  Field  of  Rational  Logic 249 

115.  Appeal  to   Reason      ....    •«*>  .^.j'i'nv?   .     .  250 

XXVII.  THE  BALANCE  OF  MOTIVES 251 

116.  Individual  Decision     .     .     i''f,  "; -•.  <  v:-***;JJr.    .     .  251 

117.  Collective  Decision      .     .     73  :*  ;''l  iji"Jii;<j%;     .     .  252 

118.  Conclusion *.;:»L::.-4i<;*.  ••i"C .     .      .  253 

XXVIII.  How  TO  STIMULATE  VITAL  ENERGIES  FOR  ACTION    .  255 

119.  Stimulating   Appetites 255 

120.  Stimulating  Vital  Energies  by  Means  of  Pleasure  257 

Fatigue 257 

Fear ,.J     .'t;  .     .     .     .  259 

Sensuous  Pleasures 260 

XXIX.  How  TO  STIMULATE  SENTIMENTS  FOR  ACTION    ,     ...  261 

121.  The  Stimulus  of   Sentiment      .     .     .     .  />     .'•'.  i.  261 

122.  How  Suggestion  Stimulates  Sentiments  .     .     .:'•  .  262 


xviii  CONTENTS 

CUAPTU 

123.  Imitation       

124.  Making  Suggestions  Effective 

125.  Suggestive  Media 268 

XXX.    How  TO  CONTROL  OPINIONS  AND  BELIEFS  FOR  CON- 
STRUCTIVE  ACTION 271 

126.  The  Need  for  Control  of  Collective  Opinion    .     .  271 

127.  Internal  Factors  of  Opinions 272 

Character 272 

Ideals 273 

Wants 273 

Interests 273 

Passions 274 

Illusions ^ 274 

128.  External   Factors   of   Opinions 274 

First  Impressions 275 

Suggestion 275 

Prestige 279 

Mental  Contagion 279 

Fashion 280 

Custom 281 

Means  of  Propagation  of  Opinion 281 

129.  The  Rectification  of  Opinions 282 

Steadiness  of  Beliefs 282 

Social  Necessities 282 

Social  Opportunities 283 


PART  IV 
APPLIED  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

XXXI.  PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN   ENGINEERING 287 

130.  Purpose   of   Human   Engineering 287 

131.  Some  Principles  of  Mechanics 288 

132.  Statistics  of  Vital  Forces 290 

133-     Spiritual  Dynamics 294 

The    Stimulus 295 

Collective  Stimulation 297 

XXXII.  PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION 298 

134.  The  Promoter 298 

135.  Steps  of  Promotion  of  Labor  Representation    .     .  299 

136.  Creating  the  Ideal 3°o 

137.  Motivating  the  Personnel 302 

138.  Correcting  Traditions 302 

139.  Establishing  Community  of  Interests      ....  303 

140.  Closing  the  Campaign 3<>4 

141.  Promoting  the  Plan 305 


CONTENTS  xix 


142.  What  to   Start 306 

143.  How  Fast  to  Develop  Cooperation  in  Management  307 

144.  The  Function  of  Committees  in  Human  Engineer- 

ing        308 

XXXIII.  ORGANIZING  TOR  UNITY 310 

145.  Managerial  Unit 310 

146.  Connecting  Employees 311 

147.  Assimilating  the  Manager 311 

148.  Symbol  of  Unity 313 

XXXIV.  HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION 315 

149.  The  Object  of  Human  Engineering  in  Production  315 

150.  Building   Ideals 3*5 

151.  Motivating  the  Personnel 317 

152.  Examples  of  Motivation 317 

Graphs        3*7 

The    Blackboard 317 

The  Bulletin 320 

153.  Traditions 323 

Inertia  to  Variation 323 

Correcting  Traditions 324 

Harmful  Traditions  to  Be  Removed     ....  326 

Two  Aspects  of  Inertia 327 

154.  Interests        328 

XXXV.  INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING 329 

155.  Limitation  of  Competition 329 

156.  Cooperation  of  Employers 330 

157.  Prospective  Development 332 

158.  Leadership    . 333 

159.  Technique  of  Industrial  Engineering      ....  335 

160.  Building  Ideals 335 

161.  Motives 336 

162.  Traditions 337 

163.  Interests        337 

164.  Loyalty 338 

XXXVI.  SOCIAL  ENGINEERING 339 

165.  Definition  of  Social  Engineering 339 

166.  Technique  of  Social  Engineering 340 

Building   Loyalty 340 

Forming  Ideals 342 

Social  Motivation 343 

Correcting  Tradition 345 

Harmonizing  Conflicting  Interests 345 

167.  Individual  Liberty  vs.  Social  Interference    .     .     .  347 

168.  The  Organization  of  Thought 350 


XX 


CONTENTS 


CHAFTIH  »ACB 

169.  Organizing  Bodies 352 

170.  Formation  of  Public  Opinion 353 

XXXVII.    CONCLUSION        357 

171.  An    Historical   Summary 357 

172.  The  Solutions  to  the  Industrial  Problem     .     .     .  358 

173.  The  Laws  of  Life  Must  Govern 35® 

174.  Engineering  of  Human   Forces 360 

175.  The  Committee  System  and  Cooperation     ...  361 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 363 

INDEX                          369 


PART  I 
PSYCHOLOGICAL  EVOLUTION  OF  INDUSTRY 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING 


CHAPTER   I 

COOPERATION 

i.  Definition. — The  great  and  distressing  problem 
of  to-day  is  the  lack  of  cooperation  among  the  personnel 
of  great  industrial  and  commercial  enterprises.  At  the 
best,  this  means  that  men  are  indifferent  to  the  result 
of  their  work.  At  the  worst,  it  means  that  they  deliber- 
ately waste  time  and  material  or  menace  the  social  order. 

One  of  the  purposes  of  management,  therefore,  is  to  get 
the  cooperation  of  the  employees.  But  what  is  co- 
operation? Webster's  dictionary  defines  cooperation: 

Joint  operation,  concurrent  effort  of  labor.  The  associa- 
tion of  a  number  of  persons  for  their  common  benefit; 
collective  action  in  the  pursuit  of  common  well-being, 
especially  in  some  industrial  or  business  process. 

The  concurrence  of  effort  in  collective  action  for  com- 
mon well-being  is  the  essential  of  this  definition. 

In  practice,  cooperation  is  manifested  by  a  vivid  in- 
terest in  one's  occupation,  by  a  desire  to  be  of  service 
and  to  make  good  for  one's  firm,  and  by  anxiety  for 
its  fame  and  prosperity.  It  means  attention  concentrated 
on  one's  task,  honest  endeavor  during  full  working  time, 
thought  for  constant  improvement,  elimination  of  waste, 

3 


4  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

teamwork,  self-discipline,  willing  adaptation,  and  the 
spirited  exertion  which  courage  and  loyalty  stimulate. 
Occasionally,  it  means  some  self-denial.  In  other  words, 
cooperation  would  be  perfectly  expressed  if  a  man  worked 
for  his  employer  as  he  would  work  for  himself  in  his 
own  business.  Such  a  cooperator  is  rather  exceptional, 
though  it  seems  that  employers  expect  to  meet  him  in 
the  person  of  every  employee.  Such  expectation  is  vain. 
For  example,  the  increase  of  output  occasioned  by  piece- 
work often  suggests  that  dishonesty  motivates  the  slower 
pace  of  day  work,  but  it  is  not  so.  There  is  no  reason 
why  any  individual  worker  should  deliver  more  than 
the  usual  amount  of  work  furnished  for  the  customary 
day  wage  of  his  trade,  in  spite  of  his  ability  to  do  so. 
Moreover,  leveling  wages  levels  down  output. 

The  supposed  right  of  the  master  to  exact  devotion 
from  his  employees  is  a  remnant  of  the  feudal  status 
of  labor  which  has  not  yet  been  completely  effaced  from 
the  mind  of  the  old-school  employer.  Yet  its  fallacy  is 
evidenced  by  the  universal  inertia  of  people  working  under 
average  conditions.  Normal  wage  can  purchase  only 
the  ordinary  routine  work  of  the  average  man  of  each 
class.  Intelligence,  initiative,  concentration,  spirited  ex- 
ertion, self-denial;  that  is,  cooperation,  constitutes  an 
extra  thing  which  is  not  included  in  the  contract  of  labor. 
We  do  not  realize  well  enough  what  such  an  extra  thing 
means  and  what  a  superior  combination  of  high  physical, 
mental,  and  moral  qualities  is  required  to  produce  it. 
Under  normal  conditions,  the  effort  which  the  average 
man  is  willing  to  put  forth,  is  the  habitual  effort.  Every- 
thing which  requires  foresight,  new  combination  of 
thought,  exceptional  alertness,  continuous  attention,  any 
unaccustomed  movement  or  exertion,  is  difficult.  Em- 


COOPERATION  5 

ployees  are  willing  to  cooperate  with  their  employer  for 
a  common  benefit;  that  is  to  say,  to  work  with  him  but 
by  no  means  for  him.  The  extra  effort  is  such  an  altru- 
istic expression  of  human  nature  that  it  cannot  be  en- 
tirely paid  for  with  money.  Cooperation  demands  a 
common  end  of  pursuit,  which  cannot  be  found  in  spe- 
cialized tasks. 

2.  The  Scope  of  Cooperation. — Cooperation  is  not 
merely  an  honest  discharge  of  one's  obligations ;  its  scope 
is  much  broader  and  higher.  It  implies  a  common  under- 
standing of  the  ideals  to  be  pursued,  a  community  of  pur- 
poses, an  agreement  upon  the  means  to  these  ends,  a 
willingness  to  give  another  right  service,  and  readiness 
to  receive  his  service  in  return.  In  other  words,  it  in- 
volves a  sincere  endeavor  to  attain  greater  results,  to  unite 
the  individual's  activity  with  that  of  others,  not  only  on 
the  economic  but  also  on  the  intellectual,  moral,  and 
social  planes.  Nothing  of  importance  is  now  accom- 
plished without  it.  Indeed,  cooperation  is  the  great  so- 
cial phenomenon  of  our  epoch;  it  is  the  light  of  our 
civilization. 

Cooperation  exercises  itself  among  coworkers  by  ad- 
vice, information,  example,  help,  considerateness,  and  the 
fitting  of  one's  job  to  that  of  others.  The  foreman 
cooperates  with  the  employee  by  giving,  in  an  unmistak- 
able manner,  the  right  instruction  at  the  right  time,  by 
common  sense  in  keeping  principles,  by  patient  teaching, 
by  helpful  supervision,  and  by  listening  to  the  suggestions 
of  the  employee.  In  return,  the  employee  gives  confidence, 
discipline,  attention,  timely  report  on  trouble  and  waste, 
and  aid  in  the  search  for  constant  improvement  and  for 
greater  efficiency.  Cooperation  manifests  itself  between 
foremen,  squads,  or  departments  by  setting  a  proper  se- 


6  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

quence  of  operations,  by  avoiding  retrogression  in  manu- 
facturing processes,  by  avoiding  duplication  of  work,  by 
facilitating  the  handling  of  material  and  subsequent  opera- 
tions, and  by  an  appreciation  of  each  other's  means  and 
requirements  in  order  to  minimize  friction.  It  is  needed 
among  executives  for  realizing  community  of  purpose 
and  unity  of  action.  It  is  a  fundamental  condition  be- 
tween the  chief  executive  and  his  personnel. 

Cooperation  also  extends  beyond  the  plant ;  for,  indeed, 
every  day  we  see  novel  efforts  to  facilitate  handling, 
transporting,  and  preserving  products  and  to  increase 
efficiency  in  their  use  or  consumption. 

Consider  the  work  of  the  sales  and  advertising  men 
and  dealers.  They  unite  in  educating  the  masses  and 
shaping  their  standard  of  living,  in  increasing  the  wel- 
fare of  a  progressive  people,  and  in  developing  the  ab- 
sorbing capacity  of  the  market. 

Consider  the  railway,  which  is  almost  the  partner 
of  every  modern  business.  It  cooperates  with  both  stages 
of  production;  the  concentration  of  raw  materials  at  the 
factory  and  the  distribution  of  finished  goods.  It  in- 
creases the  area  of  supply  and  consumption  to  such  an 
extent  that  all  centers  of  production  have  become  inter- 
dependent. It  has  made  possible  that  specialization  of 
industry  which  makes  cooperation  necessary  among  spe- 
cialized workers  and  specialized  centers. 

Consider  how  much  we  owe  to  the  fine  cooperation, 
verging  on  partnership,  between  banking  and  business 
concerns.  By  this  means,  credit  has  multiplied  many  fold 
the  powers  of  commerce  and  industry,  although  the  full 
development  of  credit  is  yet  to  come.  Again,  in  finance, 
the  cooperation  of  many  small  investors  makes  it  pos- 
sible to  raise  huge  capital  for  the  establishment  of  large 


COOPERATION  7 

industries.  Thus  common  people  have  become  copart- 
ners in  the  most  formidable  enterprises  in  the  world. 
Furthermore,  insurance  is  a  great  financial  cooperation 
for  the  distribution  of  risk  or  of  loss  from  disasters  of 
all  kinds. 

Cooperation  is  not  limited  to  the  activity  of  people 
united  by  the  same  interest.  To  the  confusion  of  the  old 
individualist,  it  extends  to  competitors  who  find  untold 
advantages  in  helping  one  another,  as  for  example,  the 
association  of  credit  men,  which  decreases  losses  and  ex- 
pands business.  The  progress  of  technical  and  business 
methods  is  due  largely  to  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
by  the  pioneers  of  science  and  industry,  who  impart  the 
results  of  their  studies,  investigations,  and  experience 
through  special  publications,  lectures,  and  expositions,  or 
by  means  of  visits  to  factories  and  works.  Industrial 
progress  is  no  longer  worked  out  in  secret  by  one  man 
in  an  inefficient  manner.  To-day,  progress  in  science 
and  industry  is  due  to  the  fullest  cooperation  of  experts, 
not  only  of  this  country  but  of  the  whole  world.  They 
create  the  powerful  currents  of  thoughts  which,  although 
unperceived  by  the  layman,  build  up  our  civilization 
with  such  a  rapid  pace  that  the  average  business  man  is 
scarcely  able  to  keep  himself  up-to-date,  even  in  his  own 
line. 

Such  world-wide  cooperation  also  unites  in  a  common 
purpose  all  professional  men;  such  as  teachers,  engineers, 
physicians,  lawyers,  bankers,  psychologists,  sociologists, 
and  so  on.  Every  body  of  specialists  has  its  journal  and 
publishes  the  full  results  of  its  researches.  It  may  be 
said,  therefore,  that  science  is  the  purest  fruit  of  co- 
operation. The  press  has  become  a  formidable  tool  for 
cooperation  on  a  large  scale,  and  at  the  same  time  the  in- 


8  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

strument  for  the  diffusion  and  exaltation  of  the  spirit 
of  cooperation. 

These  few  instances  show  that  the  whole  system  of  pro- 
duction has  become  a  vast  work  of  cooperation,  the  com- 
plexity and  gigantic  proportions  of  which  no  man  had 
ever  dreamed.  The  present  system  is  a  result  of  the 
survival  of  the  fittest  means  to  serve  the  actual  wants 
of  humanity. 

Service  is  the  real  test  of  cooperation.  We  observe  in 
passing  that  he  who  serves  best  deserves  the  highest  re- 
ward in  every  field  of  activity.  Simple  muscular  effort  is 
as  cheap  as  is  raw  material;  its  work  lacks  the  impress 
of  intelligence.  Whether  service  is  rendered  directly  or 
is  embodied  in  products,  it  is  the  more  valuable  the  more 
it  reflects  intelligence;  an  intelligence  which  vitalizes 
things  and  makes  things  valuable  because  they  acquire 
qualities  which  respond  to  the  demands  of  life.  It  is 
often  supposed  that  manual  labor  is  mere  physical  exer- 
tion. But  there  is  no  physical  work  which  would  not 
be  improved  by  the  cooperation  of  intelligent  attention. 
Many  mechanics  have  to  supplement  a  little  physical 
exertion  by  much  mental  work.  Besides,  all  workers 
have  to  stimulate  their  wills  to  overcome  their  own  in- 
ertia and  adverse  external  conditions.  They  have  to  fit 
themselves  to  their  jobs  and  can  increase  their  efficiency 
considerably  by  extra  effort  of  will. 

In  our  modern  life,  under  the  division  and  specializa- 
tion of  labor,  the  individual  worker  contributes  only  an 
infinitesimal  part  to  the  production  of  the  commodities 
he  consumes.  Through  our  social  system,  he  exchanges 
his  services  for  the  services  of  others.  Consequently, 
social  progress  has  become  the  ultimate  end  of  coopera- 
tion. Cooperation,  therefore,  is  not  a  mere  accidental 


COOPERATION  9 

application  of  good  will;  it  is  the  manifestation  of  the 
universal  spirit  of  our  civilization  which  fuses  endless 
differences  into  social  solidarity.  It  is,  moreover,  the 
very  principle  of  a  democracy  in  which  every  citizen  has 
the  right  and  the  duty  to  collaborate  in  building  the  ideal 
state  of  his  aspirations. 

3.  The  Need  for  Cooperation  in  Production. — The 
leading  nations  believe  that  greater  cooperation  is  needed 
and  encourage  combinations  among  manufacturing, 
financial,  and  shipping  interests,  for  standardizing  pro- 
duction and  reducing  costs  as  well  as  for  purchasing 
raw  materials.  The  object  is  to  eliminate  waste  and 
inefficiency  and  to  avoid  duplication  of  effort  in  order 
to  decrease  buying,  producing  and  selling  expenses.  The 
present  economic  conditions  make  international  coop- 
eration for  administering  the  opportunities  of  the 
world  the  highest  goal  of  business,  for  the  destiny  of 
humanity  depends  upon  good  will  and  mutual  services 
among  nations.  The  interdependence  of  nations  has  be- 
come so  compelling  as  to  inspire  this  declaration  by  R. 
H.  Rice,  acting  manager  of  the  General  Electric  Com- 
pany :* 

If  America  is  to  maintain  her  position  as  an  industrial 
nation  in  the  years  of  reconstruction  and  post-reconstruction 
to  come,  she  must  be  able  to  manufacture  and  export  to 
foreign  countries  all  those  articles  of  commerce  which  her 
genius  and  inventive  ability  have  produced  and  will  produce 
under  competitive  conditions  more  severe  than  any  which 
we  have  as  yet  known.  She  must  be  able  to  manufacture 
and  market  her  products  at  home  under  similar  competitive 
conditions.  The  industrial  facilities  existing  in  America 
to-day  are  so  much  more  extensive  than  they  ever  have  been 

1  Electrical  World,  March,  1919. 


io  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

that  our  home  market  will  no  longer  be  sufficient  to  absorb 
our  products. 

Consequently,  the  higher  world-wide  cooperation  must 
begin  by  winning  the  good  will  of  the  humblest  working 
man. 


CHAPTER  II 

INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION 

4.  Evolution  of  Industry. — The  history  of  indus- 
trial systems  is  a  record  of  the  growth  of  union.  Each 
stage  of  this  long  development  has  had  its  own  peculiar 
organization,  characterized  by  the  relation  of  capital  to 
labor.  In  primitive  life,  commodities  were  supplied  by 
private  production  for  private  consumption.  There  was 
no  capital,  no  exchange,  no  division  of  labor;  therefore, 
cooperation,  in  the  economic  sense,  was  absent.  The  or- 
ganization of  the  family  and  clan  marked  the  first  stage 
of  union  and  cooperation.  But  it  was  only  when  small 
groups  accumulated  a  stock  of  goods  that  exchange  of 
surplus  goods  from  one  group  for  goods  of  a  different 
kind  from  another  group  initiated  commerce.  Slowly, 
people  recognized  the  advantages  of  greater  union  and 
organized  socially  into  larger  communities.  Trades  were 
differentiated  and  a  system  of  local  exchange  developed. 
The  craftsman  owned  his  materials  and  his  tools  and  thus 
was  independent.  Then  different  centers  developed  high- 
er perfection  in  particular  lines  of  production.  The 
products  of  these  centers,  therefore,  became  more  de- 
sirable for  other  communities.  But  without  capital,  sales- 
manship, or  machinery  for  distribution,  the  craftsmen 
could  not  benefit  much  from  their  skill.  Such  a  new  op- 
portunity invited  the  middleman  to  enlarge  the  field  of 
exchange.  He  incurred  the  risks,  which  were  consider- 

ii 


12  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

able  in  early  trade,  and  finally  accumulated  wealth.  The 
demand  for  products  grew  faster  than  the  growth  of 
hand  production.  As  soon  as  capital  had  become  avail- 
able, machines  were  invented  and  production  was  cen- 
tralized in  factories  where  man's  efficiency  advanced.  The 
effect  of  that  evolution  was  cumulative.  Decrease  of  cost 
increased  trade  which,  in  turn,  brought  wealth.  This 
wealth,  then,  invested  in  machinery,  multiplied  productiv- 
ity and  decreased  cost  more.  During  this  stage  the  dif- 
ferent communities  were  still  to  a  great  extent  self-sup- 
porting; therefore,  commerce  was  mainly  a  private  con- 
cern. Its  object  was  the  exchange  of  surplus  products 
for  the  purpose  of  accumulating  wealth  and  gaining 
power  for  the  entrepreneur;  that  is,  for  the  man  who 
undertakes  the  conduct  and  responsibility  of  production. 

Later  on,  governments  came  to  realize  that  greatness 
of  nations  lay  in  development  of  industry  and  commerce 
rather  than  in  annexation  of  more  land.  Hence  laws 
were  passed  to  encourage  production  and  transportation, 
to  make  the  roads  safe  for  commerce,  and  to  regulate  the 
commercial  relations.  The  economic  progress  which  fol- 
lowed has  been  so  great  that  the  productive  centers  of 
all  nations  have  become  interdependent.  This  inter- 
depenjience  of  social  groups  and  districts,  as  well  as  that 
of  individuals,  has  laid  upon  us  the  obligation  to  serve. 
Indeed,  those  who  have  renounced  producing  their  neces- 
sities in  order  to  specialize  and,  by  doing  so,  have  aug- 
mented their  usefulness  to  society,  have,  in  return,  an 
unquestionable  right  to  demand  of  society  provision  for 
their  necessities. 

Now,  the  right  of  the  public  to  be  served  adequately 
is  protected  by  legislative  regulations  and  by  a  measure 
of  direct  control  of  production.  The  limitations  imposed 


INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  13 

upon  the  entrepreneur  grow  in  the  proportion  that  his 
services  become  of  more  general  interest.  These  limita- 
tations  are  exemplified  by  the  government  regulation  of 
railroads,  public  utilities,  banking,  telegraphs,  and  tele- 
phones. On  the  other  hand,  where  production  is  experi- 
mental, special  in  character,  or  not  essential  to  human  life, 
and  where  conditions  of  production  are  not  standardized, 
the  control  exercised  by  society  still  consists  chiefly  in 
interdiction  of  restraint  of  trade.  Society,  in  general,  is 
sufficiently  protected  by  the  play  of  free  competition. 
Thus,  we  have  entered  into  the  phase  of  business  coopera- 
tion under  public  control.  Whatever  may  be  the  de- 
gree or  form  of  that  control  does  not  matter.  The  prin- 
ciple of  limiting  the  right  of  managing  one's  business, 
when  many  are  interested,  is  established,  and  the  applica- 
tions of  this  principle  will  develop  parallel  with  social 
necessities.  Limitation  of  the  rights  of  private  ownership 
is  already  exercised  by  taxes,  inheritance  duties,  right 
of  eminent  domain,  requisition  for  war  purposes,  em- 
bargo, interdiction  of  nonessential  industries,  and  control 
of  building  operations.  Such  increase  of  limitations 
changes  the  old  conception  of  private  ownership. 

The  interweaving  of  the  interests  of  distant  people 
has  done  more  than  anything  else  to  build  up  national 
unity  and  to  extend  the  spirit  of  solidarity.  This  com- 
munity of  interest  has  emphasized  the  idea  that  we  all 
buy  and  sell  services ;  and  this  idea  has  become  the  basis 
of  our  civilization.  The  universal  acceptance  of  this  idea 
will  come  as  people  learn  by  experience  and  realize  that 
the  whole  of  services  received  cannot  exceed  the  whole  of 
services  rendered. 

Industry,  which  originated  as  a  private  means  for  pri- 
vate interests,  has  become  a  social,  organic  institution  in 


14  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  form  of  a  complete  system  for  the  exchange  of  spe- 
cialized services.  By  stimulating  willing  cooperation  it 
will  become  the  most  efficient  form  of  union  yet  attained. 
•It  has  ceased  to  be  a  mere  collection  of  unrelated  private 
interests ;  it  has  grown  into  a  vast  social  entity  with  rights 
and  duties  of  its  own  quite  distinct  from  those  of  cap- 
italists. 

5.  Evolution  of  Capital. — The  wealthy  people  of 
the  past,  who  were  the  land-owners,  did  not  condescend 
to  take  any  interest  in  business  and  considered  it  vile. 
Therefore,  capital  was  scarce  and  was  cautiously  used  in 
financing  its  owner's  business.  On  account  of  the  great 
risk  inherent  in  pioneer  enterprises,  great  freedom  and  at- 
tractive privileges  were  necessary  to  induce  investment. 
So  legislative  restraint  and  ethical  obligations  were  at  a 
minimum. 

The  next  stage  of  industrial  finance  was  partnership. 
When  partners  were  actively  associated  for  the  conduct  of 
their  business,  the  status  of  capital  remained  unchanged. 
It  was  only  with  the  appearance  of  the  silent  partner,  who 
had  no  active  part  in  management,  that  speculation  upon 
the  transactions  of  others  became  characteristic  of  indus- 
trial financing.  In  the  new  capacity  of  silent  partner,  the 
capitalist  enjoyed  most  of  the  privileges  of  the  individual 
entrepreneur,  on  account  of  the  unlimited  responsibility 
of  the  partners  and  on  account  of  the  privacy  of  their 
mutual  arrangements. 

Then  came  the  joint-stock  company,  which  limited  the 
responsibility  of  partners  without  greatly  altering  their 
personal  attitude  toward  business. 

Finally,  the  corporation  and  holding  company  followed 
and  revolutionized  the  status  of  capital  in  its  relations 
to  industry  and  labor,  for  the  capitalist,  the  entrepreneur, 


INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  15 

and  the  laborer  have  become  distinct  parties.  It  may  be 
opportune  to  recall  that  a  corporation  is  a  legal  entity 
whose  existence  is  independent  of  its  stockholders.  They 
cannot  withdraw  their  shares  of  capital,  but  are  at  liberty, 
at  any  moment,  to  sell  their  stock,  which  represents  merely 
their  title  to  the  proceeds  of  the  corporation  and  entitles 
them  to  elect  directors.  As  a  result  of  the  separation  of  the 
capitalist  from  the  entrepreneur,  the  corporation  has  dis- 
tinct interests  which  are  sometimes  in  opposition  to  those 
of  its  stockholders. 

This  new  status  of  industrial  ownership  led  fatally  to 
speculation,  defined  as  "an  actual  settlement  of  a  dis- 
agreement as  to  future  profit."  The  magnitude  of  daily 
stock  transactions  shows  that  many  stockholders  have 
but  a  temporary  interest  in  the  business  of  the  cor- 
porations. Often  they  know  nothing  about  the  busi- 
ness and  consequently  their  indifference  to  the  prob- 
lems which  confront  management  is  absolute.  This 
situation  of  absentee  directorate  has  done  much  to  focus 
attention  upon  the  necessity  of  developing  a  body  of 
principle,  practices,  and  laws  to  satisfy  the  needs  and 
safeguard  the  rights  of  all  who  are  engaged  in  in- 
dustry. 

The  attitude  of  absentee  stockholders  has  naturally 
somewhat  impaired  the  former  prestige  of  capital.  Right 
of  ownership  is  respected  in  the  proportion  that  capital 
is  the  product  of  work  and  that  the  service,  of  which  it 
is  the  reward,  is  personal.  The  more  capital  is  the  result 
of  speculation,  the  less  respect  it  commands,  and  the  less 
become  its  rights  of  ownership,  because  then  it  repre- 
sents rather  the  lucky  fruit  of  circumstances  afforded  by 
the  community  than  the  result  of  services  rendered  by  its 
owner.  When  capital  is  purely  accumulated  work,  it  can 


16  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

properly  command  labor  because  in  itself  it  represents 
successful  endeavor.  Much  of  the  profits  of  corporations 
is  the  result  of  work,  but  the  subsequent  distribution  of 
that  wealth  through  speculation  gives  the  winners  of 
wealth  little  prestige  in  the  eyes  of  the  modern  laboring 
class.  The  continual  increase  of  legislative  limitations 
put  upon  capital  proves  that  its  prestige  is  everywhere 
declining  and  that  an  attempt  is  being  made  at  a  new 
definition  of  its  rights. 

Not  all  capitalists,  however,  are  indifferent  speculators. 
There  is  another  class  of  stockholders  who  take  actual 
control  of  the  corporation  in  which  they  are  interested 
and  make  it  a  point  to  stay  at  their  posts,  without  regard 
to  temporary  reverses.  They  are  the  leaders  of  industry. 
To  their  initiative  and  their  indefatigable  energy,  we 
owe  the  industrial  development  of  the  world.  By  them 
is  borne  much  of  the  tremendous  burden  of  unsuccessful 
ventures.  It  seems  that  this  group  is  made  particularly 
responsible  for  all  the  grievances  against  capital,  espe- 
cially when  grievances  are  stated  in  an  indefinite  manner. 
And  yet,  if  we  consider  the  progress  made,  we  must  rec- 
ognize the  uprightness  of  captains  of  industry,  for,  if 
they  were  to  take  full  advantage  of  their  opportunities 
for  exploitation,  business  would  soon  cease  to  exist. 

There  is  another  class  of  capitalists — those  who  lend 
money.  Most  modern  corporations  are  financed  not  by 
stock  alone,  but,  to  a  very  great  extent,  by  bonds  too. 
The  bondholders  are  also  capitalists.  Nevertheless,  curi- 
ously enough,  their  status  is  very  similar  to  that  of  labor- 
ers. They  have  no  voice  in  the  normal  conduct  of  the 
business.  The  rate  of  interest  which  constitutes  their  re- 
turn is  the  least  possible  obtainable  at  the  time  and  under 
the  conditions  determined  by  the  supply  and  demand  of 


INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  17 

money.  Interest  is  a  debt  which  must  be  paid,  whether 
there  is  profit  or  not;  and  interest,  like  wages,  is  an  ele- 
ment of  cost,  not  a  part  of  profit.  Consequently,  labor 
cannot  seriously  question  the  division  of  the  proceeds  of 
industry  with  bondholders.  However,  the  proportion  of 
loaned  funds  to  capital  stock  varies  considerably  and  af- 
fects correspondingly  the  disputed  profit  apparent  in  the 
rate  of  dividends. 

Now,  the  sacredness  of  capital  is  enhanced  by  the  fact 
that  the  diffusion  of  bonds  and  stock  has  reached  the 
working  class  itself,  which  of  late  has  contracted  the 
habit  of  investing  an  ever  larger  part  of  its  savings  in 
industrial  securities. 

If  we  try  to  define,  under  the  name  of  "capital,"  the 
persons  upon  whom  labor  makes  its  demands,  the  vague- 
ness of  the  term  "capital"  appears;  on  the  other  hand, 
in  the  difference  of  responsibility  attaching  to  stockhold- 
ers, speculators,  bondholders,  directors,  managers,  or  cap- 
italist class  and,  on  the  other,  in  the  increasing  diffusion 
of  shareholding.  In  practice,  however,  labor  makes  de- 
mands against  any  controlling  power  which  perpetuates 
the  divergence  of  purposes  among  industrial  groups  and 
which  creates  conflicts  instead  of  promoting  cooperation. 

The  criticisms  leveled  against  capital  seem  to  be  justi- 
fied by  abuses  rather  than  by  the  capitalistic  system  itself, 
which  is  still  in  the  building  period.  Year  after  year,  im- 
provements in  the  system  are  made  and  new  laws  or  rulings 
are  submitted  to  the  fire  of  practice.  By  continual  adapta- 
tion, we  approach  slowly  toward  more  stability  and 
greater  protection  of  the  general  interests  of  industry  and 
labor  against  the  immediate  interests  of  capitalists.  In 
these  attempts  at  correcting  abuses,  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  entity  of  industry  and  capital  has  become  funda- 


18  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

mental.  Each  of  the  three  parties — capital,  industry,  and 
labor — has  rights  and  duties  of  its  own  and  must  be  pro- 
tected against  the  others. 

6.  Evolution  of  the  Status  of  Labor : — /.  Isolation 
of  the  Worker. — During  the  early  stages  of  factory  pro- 
duction, the  volume  of  business  was  very  much  less  than 
it  is  at  present  and  most  products  were  made  to  order  to 
suit  the  particular  convenience  of  customers.  Many  orders 
were  never  duplicated.  Under  such  conditions,  work- 
shops had  to  do  miscellaneous  jobs.  Moreover,  it  did 
not  occur  to  anybody  that  anything  else  could  be  done, 
since  all  saw  only  diversity  in  demand.  Such  varied 
jobs  required  a  good  deal  of  constructive  thought  on  the 
part  of  workingmen  of  high  skill.  Consequently,  it  was 
the  custom  in  every  trade  to  train  apprentices  during  a 
certain  number  of  years,  during  which  they  earned  next 
to  nothing.  Although  apprenticeship  meant  long  hard- 
ship, it  gave,  in  return  to  the  recipient,  a  capital  of  skill 
available  forever  and  opened  to  him  all  the  opportuni- 
ties of  his  trade. 

With  the  development  of  industry  on  a  large  scale, 
that  state  of  affairs  has  changed  considerably.  Great  in- 
crease of  production,  owing  to  help  of  capital  and  ex- 
tension of  the  market,  has  led  to  the  standardization  of 
products  and  to  the  consequent  specialization  of  opera- 
tions. The  division  of  labor  was  intended  not  only  to 
cheapen  costs  but  also  to  solve  the  problem  of  scarcity 
of  skilled  labor,  the  demand  for  which,  in  good  times, 
generally  exceeds  the  supply.  This  movement  for  ma- 
terial efficiency  has  brought  about  a  continual  reduction 
of  the  freedom,  initiative  and  interest  of  the  worker.  In- 
stead of  following  the  product  from  start  to  finish,  he  no 
longer  sees  the  significance  of  the  part  he  plays  in  indus- 


INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  19 

try  and  feels  himself  a  mere  cog-in-the-machine.  This 
has  too  often  produced  a  "cog,"  blind  and  unwilling 
because  he  does  not  understand  any  part  of  the  process 
of  production,  except  that  which  he  does  himself.  More- 
over, because  he  is  virtually  in  the  service  of  the  foreman 
and  thus  is  out  of  touch  with  the  management,  he  has  a 
sense  of  isolation  and  detachment  and  has  lost  all  pleasure 
and  interest  in  work. 

Modern  development  of  machinery  has  changed  funda- 
mentally the  old  industrial  order.  The  modern  machine 
not  only  utilizes  greater  motive  power,  but  possesses  abil- 
ity of  its  own  which  is  the  embodiment  of  the  skill  of 
its  designer.  The  more  a  machine  develops  in  speciali- 
zation, the  more  definite  becomes  its  operation  and  the 
less  it  depends  upon  the  skill  of  the  operative.  There- 
fore, the  efficiency  of  the  machine  now  depends  primarily 
upon  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  intention  of  its 
designer  and  on  the  various  combinations  of  the  tool 
equipment.  Such  knowledge,  being  particular  to  place 
and  time,  must  evidently  be  imparted  by  the  employer  in 
the  form  of  specific  instructions  for  his  particular  pur- 
poses. That  condition  naturally  brings  responsibility  for 
operations  upon  the  management. 

//.  Security  of  the  Worker:  I.  Safety. — We  have 
seen  how  evolution  has  created  a  new  social  order  which 
governs  the  relations  between  industry  and  society.  Now 
we  shall  see  what  obligations  industry  has  contracted  to- 
ward working  people. 

In  the  early  stage  of  the  factory  system,  there  was 
only  a  small  number  of  manufacturers  and  they  felt  no 
obligation  to  society  or  labor,  because  their  business  was 
a  nonessential  addition  to  the  old  system  of  hand  pro- 
duction. 


20  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Early  machinery  was  relatively  expensive  compared 
with  ours,  but  it  was  built  for  everlasting  service.  Ex- 
perience, however,  showed  the  fallacy  of  that  principle. 
No  machine  escapes  wear  and  tear,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  new  inventions  render  obsolete  the  best  of  devices. 
Therefore,  the  manufacturer  periodically  had  to  scrap 
his  equipment  and  replace  it.  Since  he  had  no  financial 
provision  for  this  contingency,  he  learned,  at  his  expense, 
that  unknowingly  he  had  given  away  his  machinery,  the 
price  of  which  was  virtually  incorporated  in  the  cost  of 
his  product.  This  cost  was  not,  as  he  first  imagined,  com- 
posed simply  of  material  and  labor,  but  besides  other 
items,  it  included  as  well  the  slow  consumption  of  his 
plant.  Hence,  the  factor  of  depreciation  has  been  intro- 
duced as  an  element  of  cost  in  order  to  make  provision 
for  renewal  when  occasion  demands  it,  and  thus  to  main- 
tain, at  the  expense  of  consumers,  the  level  of  the  fixed 
capital. 

The  former  machinery  was  dangerous  to  handle;  but, 
as  it  was  new  and  wonderful,  the  danger  was  considered 
as  a  matter  of  course  and  as  avoidable  with  due  care  on 
the  part  of  operatives.  In  fact,  this  view  seemed  to  ex- 
press the  whole  truth,  since  casualties  were  constantly 
avoided,  thanks  to  the  operatives'  care.  The  law  ad- 
mitted the  fault  of  the  victims  or  of  their  coworkers; 
and,  in  most  cases,  exonerated  the  employer,  who,  there- 
fore, did  not  trouble  himself  about  improvements.  More- 
over, scarcity  of  capital,  high  cost  of  production,  docility 
of  labor,  and  novelty  of  machine  production  were  other 
important  factors  which  kept  the  prevention  of  accidents 
out  of  the  question. 

Later  on,  with  the  growth  of  capital,  machinery  devel- 
oped in  complexity  and  the  frequency  and  gravity  of  acci- 


INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  21 

dents  augmented  correspondingly.  On  account  of  ad- 
vance in  engineering,  of  accumulation  of  means  from 
which  indemnity  might  be  paid  to  workmen,  of  growing 
unrest  and  of  political  pressure  from  the  labor  party,  legis- 
lation increased  considerably  the  responsibility  of  em- 
ployers, and  judges  showed  a  tendency  to  rule  against 
them.  Thereupon,  designing  of  machinery  and  plants 
followed  a  new  trend ;  "safety  first"  became  a  motto,  and 
safety  devices  were  introduced  which  proved  so  success- 
ful that  lately  the  study  of  accident  prevention  has  be- 
come a  special  branch  of  engineering.  In  America,  the 
"safety  first"  movement  has  brought  into  existence  two 
strong  organizations,  the  National  Safety  Council  and 
the  Workmen's  Compensation  Bureau. 

At  first,  when  the  employer  was  made  liable  for  an  in- 
demnity, the  indemnity  was  looked  upon  as  an  accidental 
loss,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  loss  would  not  occur  agaia 
But  universal  experience  soon  proved  that  casualties  are 
not  accidental,  but  incidental,  to  the  process  of  industry. 
Their  number  and  gravity  may  be  reduced  considerably, 
but  in  spite  of  all  means  of  prevention,  a  certain  number 
of  accidents  will  happen.  Then  a  new  attitude  toward  ac- 
cidents came.  Inasmuch  as  accidents  were  recognized  as  in- 
herent in  industrial  operations,  the  victims  were  entitled  to 
indemnity  irrespective  of  the  causes  of  injury  or  of  the 
fault  of  anybody.  As  a  logical  consequence,  the  law  estab- 
lished industrial  accident  insurance.  The  insurance  pre- 
miums that  the  employer  must  pay  are  naturally  charged  to 
cost,  which  thus  includes  in  selling  prices  the  costs  of  lives 
lost  and  mutilations  due  to  accidents.  It  is  quite  rational, 
in  accountancy,  to  combine  the  cost  of  limbs  and  lives 
lost,  with  the  depreciation  of  the  plant  and  of  the 
equipment  consumed  in  manufacturing  the  product.  Such 


22  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

a  charge  has  become  endurable  on  account  of  continual 
decrease  in  the  cost  of  production  and  in  the  frequency 
of  accidents  and  on  account  of  the  distribution  of  the  risk 
among  a  multitude  of  consumers. 

2.  Old  Age. — A  further  examination  shows  that  in- 
dustry consumes  lives  not  only  casually  but  continually. 
Indeed,  old  people  who  have  worked  all  their  careers  and 
have  become  incapacitated  by  old  age  have  given  away  a 
surplus  of  energy  which  should  sustain  them  to  the  end. 
But,  unfortunately,  the  compensation  of  labor  has  not  yet 
been  adequate  to  provide  independence  for  superannuated 
workers.     It  is  sometimes  contended  that  certain  skilled 
workers  made  money  enough  to  save.    Some  did,  but  the 
great  majority  of  working  people  have  not  been  able 
to  provide  for  a  comfortable  end  of  life.    Their  income 
has  been  insufficient,  their  education  has  been  inadequate 
to  their  needs  and  their  family  expenses  have  been  dis- 
proportionate to  their  resources.    As  a  consequence,  pen- 
sion or  old-age  insurance  systems  have  been  introduced 
in  the  leading  countries.    Although  they  are  still  carried 
out  only  on  a  small  scale,  they  establish  the  principle  of 
incidental  consumption  of  lives  and  the  responsibility  of 
industry.    These  expenses,  incurred  as  a  consequence  of 
industry,  are  a  new  element  of  cost  to  be  paid  by  the  con- 
sumers who  enjoy  the  products.     The  pension  systems 
vary  chiefly  in  the  degree  of  governmental  intervention; 
they  are  rather  complicated  and  a  description  of  them  has 
no  place  here.     This  statement  of  principle  suffices  to 
show  the  development  of  responsibility  in  industry. 

3.  Minimum   Wages  and   Unemployment. — Although 
as  a  whole,  the  standards  of  working  and  living  have 
never  been  so  high  as  they  are  to-day,  the  lowest  classes 


INDUSTRIAL  EVOLUTION  23 

of  labor  have  not  been  benefited  by  industrial  develop- 
ment. J.  A.  Hobson  maintained  :x 

The  conclusion  is  forced  upon  us,  that  the  gain  of  machine 
production,  so  far  as  an  increase  in  real  wages  is  concerned, 
has  been  chiefly  taken  by  the  highly-skilled  and  highly- 
waged  workers,  and  that,  as  the  character  of  the  work  and 
wages  descends,  the  proportionate  gain  accruing  from  the 
vast  increase  of  productive  power  rapidly  diminishes,  the 
lowest  classes  of  workers  obtaining  but  an  insignificant 
share. 

Moreover,  the  development  of  large-scale  production  has 
deprived  the  worker  of  the  possibility  of  owning  his 
tools,  of  control  over  material,  and  of  a  share  in  business 
management  and  has  placed  him  in  complete  dependence. 
As  a  compensation  for  such  exclusion  from  opportuni- 
ties labor  demands  a  guaranteed  minimum  wage  to  main- 
tain comfortable  living. 

It  is  true  that  the  present  industrial  system  has  con- 
siderably increased  the  opportunities  to  work  and  to 
apply  one's  particular  ability.  It  is  true,  also,  that  any 
individual  is  at  liberty  to  go  into  business  for  himself  and 
that  the  number  of  small  concerns  operated  in  the  old 
fashion  has  never  been  so  large  as  it  is  at  present.  Never- 
theless, the  great  body  of  labor  engaged  in  large-scale 
production  is  tied  up  to  the  present  industrial  system; 
and  as  a  logical  consequence,  labor  renders  industry  as  a 
whole  responsible  not  only  for  an  adequate  compensation 
that  will  secure  a  minimum  standard  of  living  but  also 
for  permanency  of  employment.  From  the  standpoint  of 
any  particular  concern,  such  responsibility  looks  threat- 
ening. However,  there  is  no  escape  from  the  conse- 

'John  A.  Hobson,  The  Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism. 


24  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

quences  of  the  established  system;  but  it  is  the  whole 
industrial  system  which  is  responsible,  not  the  individual 
employer. 

On  the  ground  that  labor  has  no  control  over  the  man- 
agement of  business,  financial  conditions,  market  condi- 
tions, or  volume  of  production,  it  refuses  to  submit  to 
the  hard  consequences  of  industrial  crises  produced  by 
the  weakness  of  the  system  to  whose  control  it  is  not  a 
party. 


CHAPTER  III 

EVOLUTION  OF  ATTITUDES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL 

7.  Original  Attitudes  of  Master  and  Servants. — In 
order  to  make  clear  the  cause  of  conflict  between  em- 
ployer and  employee,  I  shall  sketch  first  the  methods  of 
the  old  school,  the  description  of  which  is  based  upon 
narrations  of  witnesses  of  the  middle  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century.  I  recall  the  original  ideas  and  practices  in  order 
to  disclose  the  remnants  of  the  past  which  are  still  inter- 
woven with  our  modern  methods  and  which  hamper 
progress. 

The  factory  system  of  production  started  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century  and  developed  slowly  through  the 
Nineteenth,  at  the  end  of  which  it  progressed  rapidly 
with  the  improvement  of  machinery  and  with  the  exten- 
sion of  capitalism.  As  compared  with  the  evolution  of 
civilization,  the  industrial  system  of  production  is,  there- 
fore, quite  new;  and  if  we  consider  that  it  develops 
continually  in  each  generation,  we  realize  how  difficult  it 
is  for  man  to  adapt  himself  to  continually  changing  con- 
ditions. 

Up  to  the  Nineteenth  Century,  the  principal  resource 
of  man  was  agriculture.  The  standard  of  living  of  the 
common  people  was  very  low,  and  their  earnings  were 
small.  But  they  had  little,  if  anything,  to  buy,  because 
every  family  supplied  most  of  its  wants.  Because  they 
bought  little  and  because  capital  was  scarce,  the  factories 

25 


26  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

in  the  beginning  were  small,  whereas  the  supply  of  hands 
from  the  farms  was  practically  inexhaustible  or,  at  least, 
quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  demand. 

The  status  of  these  frugal  people,  struggling  against 
each  other  for  the  very  means  of  life,  determined  the 
original  attitude  of  employers  toward  labor.  On  account 
of  competition  among  working  people,  employment  in 
itself  was  regarded  as  a  favor  of  the  master  granted  to 
the  applicant  for  work.  That  grant,  however  poor  it 
might  be,  was  from  the  start  a  sufficient  motive  for 
loyalty,  all  the  more  because  the  earlier  period  of  serf- 
dom had  left  a  natural  tendency  to  servitude.  The 
employer  was,  in  fact,  the  master  and  was  recognized  as 
such  by  his  servants.  These  words  still  survive  in  law. 

The  entrepreneur,  at  first,  was  a  single  individual  risk- 
ing his  scant  money,  saved  with  difficulty  from  hard 
labor.  So,  on  account  of  the  directness  and  vividness  of 
his  interest  and  on  account  of  the  lack  of  business  prin- 
ciples and  precedent,  his  policies  were  necessarily  narrow 
and  selfish.  Immediate  interest  was  his  sole  guide. 
Imitating  his  feudal  predecessors,  the  master  was  natu- 
rally a  slave  driver.  Encouraged  by  the  passivity  of 
labor,  he  fell  into  all  the  abuses  which  the  strong  have 
ever  been  able  to  devise  for  the  exploitation  of  the  weak. 
The  day's  work  often  lasted  as  long  as  sixteen  hours, 
and  the  drive  was  carried  out  by  a  merciless,  personal 
supervision,  supplemented  by  constant  invectives  and  re- 
enforced  by  the  menace  of  club  or  imminent  discharge, 
which  meant  famine.  In  an  excess  of  zeal,  the  foreman 
outdid  the  harshness  of  the  master,  and  even  the  adult 
workingmen  imitated  him  in  their  treatment  of  appren- 
tices and  helpers.  The  mercilessness  which  workmen 
manifested  against  the  children  of  their  own  class  and 


RELATION  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL         27 

even  against  their  own  children,  in  order  "to  have  the 
trade  enter  into  their  body,"  as  they  used  to  say,  proves 
that  even  the  victims  themselves  regarded  such  treat- 
ment both  as  equitable  and  necessary. 

The  military  system  of  management  was  adopted  be- 
cause it  was  the  only  example  of  leadership.  Therefore, 
orders  were  indisputable,  and  that  worker  was  the  best 
who  endured  the  most  fatigue  and,  regardless  of  pos- 
sible and  even  actual  injury  to  himself,  obeyed  most 
blindly.  This  unfortunate  military  spirit  permeated  early 
industry  to  such  an  extent  that  the  master,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  expected  absolute  self-denial  in  his  servants ;  and 
he  was  confirmed  in  the  righteousness  of  such  a  belief 
by  the  silent  submission  of  his  servants  themselves. 

On  account  of  the  influence  of  guilds,  which  during 
the  previous  centuries  had  developed  skill  into  the  refine- 
ment of  art,  and  on  account  of  the  skill  required  by  the 
early  machine,  the  worker  had  thoroughly  to  know  his 
trade.  There  was  no  allowance  for  any  fault  of  judg- 
ment or  for  any  mistake  due  to  discomfort,  ignorance, 
unfitness,  moral  depression,  or  physical  breakdown. 
Every  failure  or  any  lagging  was  regarded  as  blame- 
worthy and  punished  accordingly. 

The  equipment  of  the  earlier  factories  was,  of  course, 
rudimentary.  The  crudest  welfare  work  was  unknown; 
even  light  was  scarcely  provided.  Yet  it  seems  that 
inefficiency,  caused  by  discomfort,  and  harmful  effects, 
due  to  overwork  and  injurious  exposure,  were  unnoticed. 
Disease  was  probably  looked  upon  as  a  result  of  indi- 
vidual weakness  or  else  of  mysterious  causes. 

The  entrepreneur  was  at  the  same  time  producer,  finan- 
cier, and  merchant ;  and  since  he  was  uneducated,  he  had 
only  common  sense  to  guide  him.  His  market  was 


28  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

limited  in  volume  as  well  as  in  space.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  his  undirected  common  sense  led  him  into 
the  policy  of  making  the  largest  possible  profit  from  the 
least  volume  of  business.  Since  loyalty  of  labor  was  sup- 
posed to  be  unlimited,  he  could  afford  to  control  cost  by 
keeping  down  wages.  He  failed  to  see  that  the  pros- 
perity of  the  working  class  would  make  prosperity  for 
himself. 

A  survey  of  the  abuses  of  the  old  school,  which  have 
heaped  up  grievances  for  a  century,  would  be  irrelevant 
here.  Nevertheless,  let  us  remark  in  passing  that  now 
we  have  to  bear  the  consequences  of  the  mistakes  of  our 
ancestors.  Likewise,  now  we  are  preparing  the  future; 
with  this  difference,  however,  that,  because  ideas  propa- 
gate rapidly  now,  the  consequences  of  our  mistakes  fall 
on  our  own  heads. 

The  outstanding  feature  of  early  servitude  was  that 
the  early  master  motivated  his  servants  by  compulsion 
and  naturally  expected  absolute  submission,  whereas  cir- 
cumstances and  his  shortsightedness  logically  led  him  to 
decrease  cost  by  lowering  wages.  The  trouble  now  is 
that  the  belief  in  the  legitimacy  of  compulsion,  self- 
denial,  and  in  the  commodity  status  of  labor  has  not  yet 
been  completely  eradicated,  notwithstanding  the  tremen- 
dous changes  which  industry  and  society  have  undergone. 

8.  Reaction  of  Labor. — We  have  seen  how  industry 
was  born  in  suffering.  Yet  it  was  of  advantage  to  the 
sufferers;  for,  as  bad  as  early  working  conditions  were, 
industry  was,  nevertheless,  a  source  of  new  opportunities. 
Consequently,  as  long  as  the  supply  of  hands  largely 
exceeded  the  demand,  the  employer,  viewed  in  the  light 
of  his  time,  was  often  regarded  as  a  benefactor,  although 
viewed  from  our  present  ethical  standards,  he  appears  a 


RELATION  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL         29 

criminal.  On  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to 
think  that  the  working  people  of  those  days  were  as 
miserable  as  we  should  be  if  we  were  transported  into 
such  surroundings ;  for  we  have  been  many  times  assured 
by  bona  fide  witnesses  that  those  people  lived  cheerfully, 
though  frugally.  They  did  not  complain  of  injustice 
because  they  did  not  feel  injustice.  All  hardship  was  a 
matter  of  course.  Nobody  was  able  to  point  out  means 
of  improvement.  The  burden,  albeit  crushing,  was  car- 
ried without  murmur  because  it  was  considered  the  legiti- 
mate price  of  living;  and  so  the  workers  got  through, 
unconscious  of  their  heroism. 

Little  by  little,  however,  industrial  laborers  felt  that 
they  were  no  longer  primarily  agricultural  serfs  favored 
with  employment,  but  that  their  status  had  been  changed 
by  the  new  vocation.  The  evil  effects  of  noxious  condi- 
tions and  of  misery  gradually  became  evident,  and 
laborers  expressed  timid  aspirations  for  betterment. 
When  the  point  of  equilibrium  between  the  supply  and 
demand  of  hands  approached,  these  aspirations  grew  into 
demands;  and  wages  had  to  be  increased  in  order  to 
attract  more  workers.  This  increase  of  wages  initiated 
the  misunderstanding  which  was  destined  to  separate 
employer  and  employees  ever  more  widely.  The  em- 
ployer asked  how  it  was  possible  for  him  to  increase  his 
expenses  and  how  these  miscreants  dared  to  express  dis- 
satisfaction when  they  received  twice  as  much  wages  as 
did  their  fathers  who  were  contented.  He  decided  to 
fight  this  evil  spirit.  Since  that  time,  the  fight  has  been 
going  on ;  and  attempts  to  settle  what  fair  compensation 
and  fair  working  conditions  mean  have  been  unsuccessful. 

When  the  contrast  between  riches  and  misery  made 
workers  conscious  of  being  exploited,  they  formulated 


30  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

more  and  more  definite  claims.  The  first  strikes  at- 
tempted in  support  of  their  demands  were  repressed 
severely  and  then  prohibited  by  law.  The  effect  of  these 
measures,  however,  was  to  kindle  new  fire  in  the  hearts 
of  the  fighters.  In  spite  of  law,  strikes  grew  in  fre- 
quency; and,  from  about  1880  on,  the  consequences  of 
strikes  were  rather  tragic,  marked,  as  they  were,  by  de- 
struction of  factories,  incendiarism,  and  revolutionary 
fighting  in  which  hundreds  lost  their  lives.  Finally, 
under  the  impetus  of  growing  socialism,  the  pressure  of 
labor  became  more  effective. 

The  socialistic  propaganda  has  had  the  effect  of  bring- 
ing into  the  light  of  public  opinion  the  inhumanity  of 
industrial  management  and  of  revealing  to  the  employers 
themselves  a  state  of  things  which  they  had  not  seen. 
Ignorance,  nervous  exhaustion,  frequency  and  serious- 
ness of  accidents,  occupational  diseases,  occupational 
deformations  of  the  body,  degeneracy  of  the  population 
of  entire  industrial  districts,  distress  of  old  age,  misery 
breeding  tuberculosis  and  epidemics  in  unhealthy  tene- 
ments, and  the  moral  relaxation  attached  to  any  state  of 
degradation,  all  these  things  made  clear  even  to  careless 
optimists  some  of  the  causes  of  social  unrest  and  the 
reality  of  social  disorder. 

Wage  earners  have  been  massed  in  villages  or  have 
lived  apart  in  separate  quarters  of  cities;  and  so  their 
life  has  become  collective.  By  such  aggregation,  their 
common  peculiarities  have  been  intensified.  Their  aspira- 
tions, their  interests,  and  their  sufferings  have  become 
more  evident;  their  complaints  and  grievances  have  be- 
come more  bitter,  for  every  one  feels  his  pain  more 
acutely  when  it  is  shared  by  a  crowd.  When  it  became 
evident  that  a  large  part  of  humanity  was  living  under 


RELATION  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL        31 

the  ban  of  society,  a  current  of  sympathy  arose  from  all 
classes,  and  many  people  of  all  ranks  assented  to  the 
strictures  of  socialism,  if  they  did  not  agree  with  its 
program. 

Meanwhile,  employers  made  fortunes  and  formed  a 
bourgeoisie,  living  apart.  Notwithstanding  their  daily 
business  intercourse  with  their  employees,  they  have  lost 
all  effective  spiritual  contact  with  their  employees,  to 
whom  they  have  become,  in  every  respect,  strangers.  We 
hear  a  great  deal  about  the  so-called  "good  old  time" ; 
but  its  legend  of  goodness  has  been  transmitted  by  the 
privileged  class.  The  working  people  do  not  regret  its 
passing. 

9.  Paternalism. — At  first,  the  growing  social  unrest 
awoke  among  the  masters  a  vague  feeling  of  responsi- 
bility which  suggested  that  milder  treatment  and  inex- 
pensive concessions  might  bring  fat  returns.  Then  began 
the  period  of  paternalism,  actually  a  system  of  compro- 
mises, the  baselessness  of  which  makes  for  instability  of 
settlement.  Indeed,  paternalism  makes  the  employees  feel 
that  grants  are  obtainable  only  under  pressure;  conse- 
quently, coercion  appears  to  the  workers  an  alluring 
means  to  extort  endless  concessions.  Paternalism  is  an 
ineffective  method  of  settlement.  It  bears  the  impress 
of  charity  because  it  is  an  arbitrary,  indefinite  mode  of 
compensation;  and  it  looks  like  the  acknowledgment  of 
a  debt  that  is  but  partly  paid.  Moreover,  in  practice, 
the  importance  of  the  benefits  of  paternalism  has  been 
overemphasized,  overadvertised,  and  persistently  urged 
upon  working  people  to  their  disgust.  Frequently  those 
benefits  have  been  bestowed  by  such  an  unfriendly  and 
arrogant  hand  that  paternalism,  instead  of  allaying  and 
diminishing  the  existing  discontent,  has  become  an  active 


32  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

factor  in  promoting  antagonism  between  employers  and 
employees. 

Most  employers  granted  concessions  grudgingly.  It 
was  only  after  improvements  proved  profitable  that,  step 
by  step,  they  recognized  the  usefulness  of  comfort,  heat, 
ventilation,  light,  safety  devices,  lavatories,  lunch  rooms, 
and  other  welfare  works.  Moreover,  the  paternal  school 
so  far  failed  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  welfare  work  that 
the  workers  suspected  these  improvements  in  factory  con- 
ditions were  to  be  an  excuse  for  further  exactions. 
Workers  are  quick  to  resent  favors,  if  favors  look  like 
substitutes  for  justice.  Hence  their  deep-seated  suspicion 
even  toward  sincere  plans  and  substantial  advantages. 

Later,  the  requirements  of  legislatures  and  factory 
inspectors,  under  the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  went 
much  farther  than  the  willing  concessions  of  employers. 
The  transformation  was  carried  out  so  fast,  and  the 
ordinances  were  so  drastic,  particularly  in  France,  that 
they  laid  an  almost  overwhelming  burden  on  industrial 
enterprises  and  turned  the  scale  of  penalty  against  the 
employers.  Now,  in  the  leading  countries,  welfare  works 
have  attained  a  degree  of  refinement  which,  in  some  cases, 
may  be  termed  excessive.  The  lavishness  with  which 
the  requirements  of  hygiene,  comfort,  and  safety  have 
sometimes  been  met  proves  the  anxiety  of  the  leading 
employers  to  satisfy  fully  the  working  people.  But  satis- 
faction has  not  followed,  because  the  concessions  of 
paternalism  are  purely  material  and  maintain  class  sub- 
jugation. It  is  vain  to  improve  the  cage  if  it  yet  remains 
a  cage. 

Paternalism  lacks  principle,  since  the  share  of  labor 
consists  of  benevolent,  arbitrary  concessions.  It  fails  to 
stimulate  cooperation,  since  there  is  no  community  of 


RELATION  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL         33 

purpose  nor  consultation  with  employees.  The  struggle 
between  employer  and  employee,  terminating  in  the  sur- 
render of  the  former,  breeds  a  feeling  among  working 
people  that  everything  they  have  obtained  has  been  fought 
for,  that  everything  they  contemplate  obtaining  has  to  be 
fought  for,  and  that  the  more  they  fight  the  more  they 
will  get.  An  intense  hatred  necessarily  results  from  such 
an  attitude  and  constitutes  a  powerful  factor  of  obstruc- 
tion against  the  reconciliation  of  both  parties.  Hatred 
produces  illusion  of  the  worst  sort.  It  pictures  the  slavery 
of  labor  by  means  of  a  skillful  combination  of  present 
grievances  with  past  abuses  and  causes  workers  willfully 
to  ignore  the  progress  already  made  in  alleviating  their 
situation.  Hatred  by  itself  becomes  a  motive  for  de- 
structive action;  it  suggests  only  short  cuts  for  quick 
solution,  as  though  the  whole  problem  consisted  in  thwart- 
ing the  arbitrariness  of  employers. 

10.  Autocratic  Leadership. — The  new  leading  class 
whose  position  and  whose  ideals  have  been  an  outgrowth 
of  early  conditions  of  production  and  exchange,  has 
developed  along  lines  markedly  different  from  the  ten- 
dencies of  democracy.  It  seems  that  the  bourgeoisie  sim- 
ply assumed  the  spirit  of  autocracy  which  had  been  held 
by  the  feudal  masters  whom  they  had  just  overthrown. 
The  bourgeoisie  thought  only  to  imitate  feudal  customs 
and  maintain  privileges.  Therefore,  it  arrogated  to  itself 
the  right  of  exclusive  leadership  in  social  and  business 
affairs.  Without  any  consideration  for  the  working  class 
which  had  to  submit  passively  and  was  given  no  hearing 
whatever,  it  assumed  the  right  to  dictate  laws  and  control 
society,  to  regulate  conditions  of  work,  rates  of  compen- 
sation, volume  of  production,  and  prices.  It  did  this  on 
the  ground  of  being  better  informed  and  o"f  having 


34  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

greater  ability  to  lead.  Of  course,  leadership  needs  these 
elements  as  well  as  a  certain  freedom  to  develop  the 
economic  organization  of  society  in  new  and  unprece- 
dented ways;  but  after  the  period  of  growth,  standard 
conditions  are  attained;  relations  become  more  definite, 
knowledge  diffuses,  and  little  room  is  left  for  arbitrary 
action. 

Autocratic  leadership  disregards  altogether  the  human 
nature  of  the  worker  and  the  new  collective  spirit  of  the 
working  class.  It  ignores  human  forces  instead  of 
utilizing  them.  When  his  factory  was  small  and  his  pres- 
tige great,  the  employer  dealt  with  his  employees  per- 
sonally and  could  enforce  strenuous  labor.  But,  in 
large-scale  industry,  the  increased  personnel  loses  per- 
sonal touch  with  the  executive,  whose  prestige  corre- 
spondingly decreases,  because  he  is  compelled  to  treat 
his  employees  in  a  wholesale  fashion.  The  expert  at  the 
top  decides  and  commands  everything;  the  man  at  the 
bottom  must  obey  passively  whether  he  agrees  or  not  with 
means  and  conditions.  His  opinions,  desires,  aspirations, 
even  his  capacity  are  entirely  disregarded;  somebody 
thinks  for  him  and  knows  exactly  what  he  should  do  and 
how  he  should  do  it.  The  doer  is  presumed  to  be  a  mere 
animated  thing.  By  a  stupendous  contradiction,  however, 
the  doer  is  expected  to  cooperate  heartily.  He  should  be 
interested  in  his  work  though  he  knows  not  what  he  does ; 
he  should  accept  the  conditions  decided  for  him  without 
his  voice ;  and  he  should  be  contented  with  the  compensa- 
tion granted  him  without  his  assent. 

The  replacement  of  personal  relationship  by  wholesale 
treatment  has  deprived  workers  of  their  personalities, 
checked  development  of  skill,  and  nipped  in  the  bud  every 
tendency  to  initiative  and  cooperation.  The  lack  of  per- 


RELATION  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL         35 

sonal  incentive  for  excellence  has  destroyed  personality 
among  workers  and  has  leveled  the  strong  man  down  to 
the  weak.  Autocratic  leadership,  of  course,  has  failed  to 
animate  the  new  collectivity  with  a  constructive  spirit, 
but  it  has  been  unable  to  choke  the  collective  spirit.  The 
inevitable  reaction  of  life  has  united  the  individuals  to 
oppose  their  collective  resistance  to  the  constraining 
forces  of  autocratic  capital.  Capitalistic  autocracy,  there- 
fore, is  fully  responsible  for  the  destructive  tendencies 
of  labor. 

The  submerged  employee  has  no  reason  to  be  efficient. 
Moreover,  the  mere  opinion  of  the  management  is  not 
sufficient  to  establish  what  is  a  fair  day's  work.  The  in- 
difference of  the  employee  and  the  inability  of  the 
employer  to  control  has  led  to  the  practice  of  getting  the 
most  possible  work  for  the  least  money  which  will  keep 
the  man  on  the  job  and  of  getting  the  most  money  for  the 
least  work  which  will  keep  the  job  for  the  man.  Hence 
active  antagonism  and  conflicting  interests. 

Under  the  growing  pressure  of  labor,  autocratic 
methods  of  management  have  been  improved.  The  treat- 
ment of  labor  has  been  humanized,  relations  between 
these  parties  have  sometimes  become  extremely  polite, 
and  systems  of  staff  organization  have  been  devised  in 
order  to  remedy  guesswork.  Nevertheless,  unrest  per- 
sists, because  the  principle  of  compulsion  and  alienation 
has  not  been  changed. 

By  keeping  the  worker  ignorant  of  the  purpose  of  his 
work,  autocratic  management  instead  of  making  work  a 
means  of  life,  has  made  it  an  end  in  itself.  Thus,  life 
has  been  deprived  of  spiritual  meaning,  and  the  collective 
spirit  has  become  either  destructive  or  materialistic.  The 
inflated  materialism  of  autocratic  Germany  has  been 


36  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

evident  enough.    We  shall  see  elsewhere  *  the  destructive 
drift  of  syndicalism. 

The  military  methods  of  autocratic  leadership  have 
been  a  most  deplorable  example  for  industrial  organiza- 
tion to  follow,  since  army  and  industry  have  different 
aims.  The  military  purpose  is  destruction ;  the  industrial, 
construction.  Professor  E.  A.  Ross  showed  this  differ- 
ence as  follows : 2 

When  life  and  death  are  at  stake  or  when  tremendous 
consequences  for  weal  or  woe  hinge  on  what  is  done  in  a 
few  hours  or  even  a  few  minutes,  mistakes  and  failure 
must  be  eliminated  at  all  costs.  A  fighting  force,  then, 
whether  it  is  to  cope  with  foes,  mobs,  fires,  surf,  floods,  or 
epidemics,  tends  toward  a  military  organization.  Not  only 
is  literal  and  prompt  obedience  enforced  by  severe  penalties, 
but,  in  order  that  the  right  thing  may  be  done  in  the  emer- 
gency, it  must  be  ingrained  as  habit.  Hence  all  organiza- 
tions which  are  subject  to  crisis  make  much  of  drill.  Mili- 
tary organization,  just  because  it  reached  a  high  develop- 
ment as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  has 
unfortunately  served  as  pattern  for  later  types  of  organiza- 
tion which  are  not  subject  to  the  strain  of  crisis.  Hence,  in 
government  bureaus  and  in  business  administration  has 
prevailed  the  false  idea  that  the  usefulness  of  the  subordi- 
nate to  his  superior  consists  in  executing  orders  and  fur- 
nishing reports.  It  is  irrational,  however,  to  repress  the 
natural  doubts,  queries,  or  remonstrances  of  the  intelligent 
and  loyal  subordinate  in  a  non-fighting  organization.  In  an 
industrial  concern,  there  ought  to  be  an  interchange  of 
thought  between  those  who  have  to  determine  policies  and 
those  who  may  be  called  upon  to  carry  them  out.  Such 
question  or  criticism  ought  not  to  be  treated  as  if  it  were 
the  murmur  of  a  soldier  under  fire  against  the  command  of 
his  officer.  Again  does  or  does  not  the  task  on  hand  put  a 

1  See  ChapterVII. 

'E.  A.  Ross,  "The  Organization  of  Effort,"  American  Journal 
of  Sociology,  July,  1916. 


RELATION  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL        37 

great  strain  on  ordinary  human  nature  ?  The  more  it  does 
so  the  stricter  will  be  the  discipline,  the  harsher  the  penalties 
for  disobedience.  This  is  the  culminating  reason  why  mili- 
tary discipline  is  more  methodical  than  any  other,  why  rigid 
training  is  so  insisted  on  for  a  man  of  so  little  skill  as  the 
common  soldier.  To  build  a  habit  that  shall  hold  him  steady 
before  the  cannon's  mouth  and  cold  steel — this  is  the  reason 
for  the  endless  drill,  the  rhythmic  regularity,  the  automatic 
obedience  exacted  by  the  makers  of  armies. 

These  fundamental  characteristics,  which  differentiate 
military  from  industrial  organizations,  and  also  the  dis- 
astrous results  of  the  intrusion  of  the  methods  of  the 
former  upon  the  latter,  show  the  imminent  necessity  for 
new  orientation.  The  promptings  of  fear  and  interest 
were  utilized  successfully  by  the  autocratic  masters  when 
they  had  to  influence  isolated  personalities ;  but,  with  col- 
lectivities, such  incentives  lose  their  effectiveness.  We 
shall  see  elsewhere  3  how  fearless  and  indifferent  the  mul- 
titude is  to  the  forces  and  interests  which  motivate  the 
individual.  To-day,  organization  of  thought  and  appeal 
to  sentiments  are  the  means  of  handling  collectivities. 

*  See  Chapter  XVIII. 


CHAPTER  IV 

EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT 

ii.  Traditional  Management. — The  productive 
ability  of  the  early  craftsman  depended  entirely  upon  his 
skill  in  handling  tools;  he  embodied  all  the  means  of  pro- 
duction. Hence  the  importance  of  apprenticeship  and 
thorough  all-around  training.  When  machines  were 
introduced,  some  specializations  took  place.  In  other 
words,  the  number  of  trades  multiplied  since  the  oper- 
ating of  each  kind  of  machine  constituted  in  itself  a  new 
calling.  However,  on  account  of  the  simplicity  of  those 
machines  which  aimed  chiefly  at  an  increase  of  produc- 
tion through  greater  motive  power,  the  efficiency  and 
possibilities  of  the  machines  still  depended  on  the  skill  of 
the  operatives. 

The  former  employer  was  necessarily  a  master  of  his 
trade.  He  knew  all  about  the  resources  and  limitations 
of  his  equipment  and  men,  and  he  set  a  high  standard  of 
skill  and  ability.  The  spur  of  personal  interest  developed 
in  him  a  keenness  for  efficiency  called  the  all-seeing 
"master's  eye."  The  test  of  ability  and  fitness  for  man- 
agement in  the  old  school  was  to  know  how  things  were 
done.  Even  now  in  Europe,  the  study  of  mathematics, 
chemistry,  mechanics,  electricity,  and  the  like  is  still  sup- 
posed to  develop  managerial  ability,  while  in  America  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  mill  is  essential  to  form  a 
traditional  manager.  With  the  growth  of  enterprises,  the 

38 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT  39 

employer  saw  his  personal  limitations  and  was  obliged 
to  deputize  his  executive  powers  to  superintendents  and 
foremen ;  but  the  principles  of  management  remained  un- 
changed. 

Under  the  traditional  system  of  management,  the  man- 
ager sends  orders  to  the  superintendents,  upon  whom  he 
puts  much  of  his  responsibility.  The  superintendents, 
wearying  themselves  with  the  strenuous  work  of  directing 
orders  without  an  adequate  system  of  records,  in  turn 
force  the  care  of  carrying  out  orders  upon  the  foremen. 
The  latter,  overburdened  by  a  range  of  duties  almost 
beyond  human  capacity,  are  compelled  to  leave  a  large 
part  of  the  work  to  the  judgment  and  initiative  of  the 
workers,  who  are  responsible  for  the  actual  operations. 
The  feature  of  the  traditional  system  is  that  foremen 
and  workmen  decide  how,  when,  and  where  the  job  is  to 
be  done,  after  things  are  set  in  motion.  This  was  per- 
haps practical  in  the  small  workshops  of  old  times  when 
the  operation  was  a  question  of  the  personal  skill  of  the 
worker;  but,  in  the  present  stage  of  production,  such 
practice  has  become  obsolete,  since  it  brings  much  of  the 
burden  of  responsibility  upon  those  who  are  least  able 
to  bear  it. 

12.  Systematized  Management. — The  chaos  of  ir- 
regularity, mistakes,  inefficiency,  and  misunderstandings 
which  resulted  from  attempts  at  running  large  enterprises 
through  traditional  methods  led  to  systematizing  the 
management.  Then  came  into  existence  the  staff  organ- 
ization which  is  derived  from  military  practice.  The 
method  is  to  divide  the  various  functions  of  management 
among  a  body  of  specialists  so  that  decisions  are  dictated 
from  top  to  bottom.  The  system  is  methodical.  Orders 
are  given  in  writing  and  include  adequate  instructions. 


40  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Work  is  prepared  ahead.  Materials  and  tools  are  prop- 
erly routed  and  disposed,  and  the  cost  of  manufacturing 
is  made  up  in  detail.  Nevertheless,  systematized  manage- 
ment is  deficient  because  it  ignores  the  individual  worker 
as  a  human  being  and  ignores  his  actual  performance. 
The  management  takes  the  responsibility  of  what,  when, 
and  how  to  do;  but  it  lacks  standards  of  costs  and  of  per- 
formance, upon  which  to  base  an  intelligent  judgment. 
As  a  consequence  of  this  ignorance  of  the  management 
as  to  what  should  be  a  fair  day's  work,  the  old  driving 
methods  have  been  maintained  in  order  to  keep  the 
workers  strenuously  employed.  The  military  school  has 
mistaken  strenuousness  for  efficiency.  In  reality  strenu- 
ousness  increases  fatigue,  which  is  by  no  means  desired, 
instead  of  increasing  output  with  less  effort. 

The  opinions  of  the  management,  based  solely  upon 
the  judgment  of  its  officials,  are  imposed  upon  workers 
who  are  expected  only  to  obey.  The  larger  the  organiza- 
tion grows,  the  more  deputies  stand  between  managers 
and  workers ;  and  the  stranger  they  become  to  each  other, 
because  the  workers  are  not  treated  as  individuals  and 
because  the  directing  ideas  of  the  manager  are  distorted 
by  being  passed  through  many  minds.  Although  sys- 
tematic organization  is  a  real  improvement  in  the 
technique  of  management,  it  fails  to  secure  the  good 
will  of  employees. 

13.  Scientific  Management  —  The  stupendous 
growth  of  American  industry  has  emphasized  the  defects 
of  the  old  methods  and  has  urged  improvement  in  man- 
agement. Americans  have  been  pioneers  in  developing 
the  management  of  business  upon  a  scientific  basis.  As 
early  as  1886,  H.  R.  Towne  emphasized  the  economic 
side  of  engineering.  In  1891,  F.  A.  Halsey  introduced 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT  41 

his  premium  plan;  and  in  1903,  Frederic  W.  Taylor  first 
pointed  out  those  principles  of  scientific  management 
which  have  since  been  constantly  studied  and  developed 
by  American  organizers,  leading  universities,  colleges, 
and  institutes. 

The  management  of  modern  business  is  no  longer  in 
the  hands  of  some  potentate;  it  is  divided  and  special- 
ized. The  managerial  units  consist  generally  of  the 
corporate  organization  which  plans  and  finances  the  busi- 
ness; the  staff  organization,  concerned  with  all  kinds 
of  technicalities;  the  administrative  organization,  chiefly 
concerned  with  financing,  auditing,  accounting,  and  non- 
routine  matters ;  and  the  line  organization,  concerned  with 
production,  selling,  and  records. 

The  chief  executive,  who  is  the  most  conspicuous  figure 
of  modern  industry,  is  no  longer  a  master  mechanic  and 
is  no  longer  concerned  with  details  and  operations ;  he  is 
concerned  with  policies.  His  new  specialized  function 
demands  a  high  degree  of  ability  for  leadership  because 
he  must  correlate  the  various  activities  of  his  different 
departments.  Management  has  become  a  specialty  quite 
distinct  from  the  technique  of  production. 

The  organic  part  of  scientific  management  establishes 
the  conditions  under  which  efficiency  may  develop.  The 
fundamental  features  are  as  follows:  the  manager  is  an 
expert  director  of  his  forces  who  knows  how  to  coordi- 
nate the  different  elements  of  his  organization.  The 
staff,  instead  of  dictating  from  top  to  bottom,  builds  from 
the  bottom.  The  workers  are  expected  to  give  sugges- 
tions for  improvement.  Foremanship  is  functionalized. 
One  department  analyzes  what  is  to  be  done;  another 
plans  how  to  do  it;  another  dispatches  the  work  as  to 
time  and  place  for  operation;  another  gives  instructions 


43  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

and  sets  standard  performances,  piece  rates,  wages,  and 
bonuses;  another  inspects,  accepts,  or  rejects  the  work; 
and,  finally,  an  employment  department  hires  and  fires, 
readjusts  wages,  and  disciplines  the  personnel. 

Foremanship,  thus  divided  on  the  basis  of  functions, 
develops  efficient  specialists  perfectly  aware  of  the  pos- 
sibilities and  limitations  of  their  equipment  and  men. 
They  plan  the  work  ahead  and  dispatch  it,  in  writing, 
from  a  central  office,  since  planning  and  performance 
are  separate  functions.  Materials,  tools,  and  instructions 
are  supplied  ahead  of  the  work.  Men  are  selected  to 
fit  the  work,  trained  properly  for  efficiency,  and  helped 
to  fit  themselves  for  higher  wages  in  order  to  make  them 
identify  their  interests  with  those  of  the  management. 
Instructions  and  rewards  are  not  matters  of  opinion; 
they  are  based  upon  records  of  facts  upon  which  all  must 
agree  because  the  facts  can  be  verified.  Workers  are 
given  standard  conditions,  facilities,  and  tasks  which  are 
established  by  a  careful  analysis  of  the  elements  of  pro- 
duction. A  system  of  records  keeps  the  manager  in  touch 
with  each  individual  worker,  thus  enabling  the  former 
to  proportion  reward  to  efficiency.  In  this  way,  it  has 
been  possible  to  pay  higher  wages  and  reduce  cost. 

During  recent  years,  scientific  management  has  ex- 
tended considerably,  although  its  application  is  still  far 
from  being  general.  Notwithstanding  the  high  degree 
of  perfection  which  its  technique  has  already  developed, 
it  has  failed  to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  workers  and 
does  not  seem  to  be  able  to  alleviate  industrial  unrest, 
probably  because  this  management  by  experts  is  a 
bureaucratic  autocracy.  The  secrecy  and  exclusiveness 
which  surround  its  functions  irritate  workers  and  pre- 
vent them  from  thinking  and  from  taking  any  interest  in 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT     43 

their  work.  But  the  main  reason  is  that  mere  production 
of  utilities  lacks  the  universality  of  appeal  which  can 
induce  cooperation.  The  abhorred  cycle  of  the  old  order, 
work,  eat,  and  sleep,  has  not  yet  been  changed. 

14.  Foremanship. — The  good  will  of  the  scientific 
manager  is  sometimes  brought  to  naught  by  the  arbitrari- 
ness of  minor  officials  who  are  still  imbued  with  the  old 
idea  of  authority.  The  difficulty  in  forming  foremen  lies 
not  so  much  in  teaching  them  the  technicalities  of  their 
respective  functions  as  in  getting  them  into  the  right 
professional  relationship  with  the  new  spirit  of  manage- 
ment. Under  the  influence  of  the  old  practice,  technique 
has  been  overemphasized;  while  the  foreman's  role  as 
transmitter  of  spiritual  force  from  the  manager  to  the 
workers  has  often  been  neglected.  To  take  the  point  of 
view  that  management  and  employees  are  to  cooperate 
seems  at  first  to  require  very  little  change  in  the  conduct 
of  an  official;  nevertheless,  when  we  try  to  convert  a 
man  rooted  in  autocratic  methods,  the  task  demands 
almost  a  surgical  operation.  In  his  opinion,  any  scien- 
tific or  democratic  scheme  undermines  the  whole  organ- 
ization because  it  lessens  his  authority.  Every  foreman 
is  supposed  to  be  an  instructor,  but  he  uses  his  authority 
to  control  men  more  often  than  his  special  knowledge 
to  instruct  them. 

In  daily  practice,  there  are  always  different  ways  of 
doing  things,  each  of  which  may  present  advantages  and 
inconveniences.  Somebody  has  to  decide.  This,  of 
course,  is  the  duty  of  the  most  expert;  but,  to-day,  the 
expert  must  set  aside  his  arbitrary  judgment  and  make 
his  decision  according  to  the  ideals  of  the  firm  and  the 
records  of  experience.  In  addition  to  these  limitations, 
the  foreman  must  reconcile  the  exigencies  of  immediate 


44  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

discipline  with  considerations  due  to  the  interests,  feel- 
ings, conveniences,  and  abilities  of  the  operatives.  To 
the  autocratic  type  of  mind,  it  is  foolish  to  attempt  to 
associate  authority  with  consent;  that  demands  a  volte 
face  which  is  not  in  the  power  of  every  one  to  perform. 
The  immediacy  of  results  wanted  in  production  keeps 
men  in  the  well  known  path  of  traditional  autocracy. 
Unless  foremen  are  willing  without  resentment  to  accept 
suggestions  offered  by  their  subordinates,  no  system  of 
management  will  ever  be  effective.  Curiously  enough, 
such  an  attitude  is  difficult  to  cultivate. 

The  autocratic  master  wrongly  placed  his  ideal  in  the 
subjugation  of  men  to  his  will.  The  modern  leader 
inspired  by  the  spirit  of  cooperation,  places  his  ideals  in 
common  accomplishment  and  in  common  benefit.  His 
policy  consists  in  teaching  and  bringing  into  expression 
the  best  which  is  within  his  fellow  men.  It  is  not  sub- 
mission itself  that  provokes  bitter  resentment;  it  is  the 
triumph  of  the  master  who  has  subjugated  his  subordi- 
nate. It  is  not  the  act  to  be  performed  that  hurts;  it  is 
the  wound  to  pride  that  induces  antagonism  as  a  reaction 
of  pride.1  Humiliation  provokes  desire  to  inflict  in  return 
greater  humiliation.  Life  is  essentially  a  struggle  for 
superiority  and  triumph.  All  depends,  therefore,  upon 
our  ideal  of  superiority.  Subjugation,  as  an  ideal  attain- 
ment, results  inevitably  in  antagonism.  Cooperation  ob- 
tains when  the  ideal  of  superiority  is  rightly  placed  in  ac- 
complishment ;  that  is,  when  the  triumph  of  men  over  one 
another  is  replaced  by  the  triumph  of  men  over  things. 

15.  Employment  Management. — /.  A  New  Profes- 
sion.— At  the  Ship  Yard  Employment  Managers'  Con- 

1  Felix  Adler,  "The  Punishment  of  Individuals  and  of  Peoples," 
Standard,  December,  1918. 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT  45 

ference  in  Washington,  November,  1917,  Admiral  Capps 
made  this  significant  statement :  2 

In  64  yards  of  which  we  have  recently  had  accurate  data, 
the  turnover  averaged  235  per  cent,  and  probably  was  300 
per  cent  at  the  last  report.  You  can  well  realize  what  this 
means  in  the  volume  of  men  passing  through  our  works  in 
the  course  of  a  year  without  any  adequate  return  in  labor. 

Conditions  of  that  sort,  with  a  rate  of  replacement  varying 
from  50  to  700  per  cent  and  more,  are  constantly  re- 
ported as  a  peculiar  feature  of  American  industry. 

Investigations  have  shown  that  the  expense  of  labor 
turnover  in  manufacturing  plants  averages  from  $30  to 
$50  per  man.  Including  the  cost  of  waste  production  and 
"overhead,"  it  has  been  reported  that  in  some  cases  the 
cost  of  hiring  and  firing  amounted  to  as  much  as  $100 
per  man.  This  condition  is  alarming  not  only  on  account 
of  the  direct  waste  which  it  occasions  and  on  account  of 
the  inefficiency  which  it  causes,  but  especially  on  account 
of  the  moral  effect  of  turnover  upon  the  workers.  It  is 
self-evident,  indeed,  that  no  organization  of  moral  forces, 
no  esprit  de  corps,  no  unity  of  purpose,  no  ideal  can  per- 
meate a  chance  association  of  always-changing,  disparate 
personalities.  We  shall  see  3  why  a  heterogeneous  col- 
lectivity is  most  mobile,  violent,  and  difficult  to  manage ; 
why  it  is  always  prompt  to  respond  to  any  subversive 
suggestion,  and  why  it  is  inaccessible  to  reason. 

As  a  consequence  of  this  situation : 4 

A  new  movement  and  the  recognition  of  a  new  profession 
have  developed  within  the  past  five  years.  The  movement 
is  known  as  the  Employment  Managers'  Associations,  which 

a  Industrial  Management,  March,  1918. 
1  See  Chapter  XVIII. 

*Roy  W.  Kelly,  Hiring  the  Worker.  Introduction  by  Meyer 
Bloomfield. 


46  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

are  to  be  found  either  full  grown  or  in  process  of  starting, 
from  Boston  to  San  Francisco.  The  new  profession  is  that 
of  employment  manager  or  supervisor  of  personnel,  and 
provision  for  such  executive  is  to  be  found  in  a  rapidly 
increasing  number  of  large  as  well  as  small  industrial  and 
commercial  establishments. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  genius  and  human  impulse 
of  the  men  who  have  revolutionized  modern  methods  of 
management  either  as  progressive  employers,  managers,  or 
system  builders  and  experts,  the  fact  remains  that  what 
may  be  termed  labor  management,  the  handling  "the  human 
problem,"  has  received  far  less  attention,  skill,  and  insight 
than  have  the  material  factors  in  organization.  Had  a 
fraction  of  the  imagination  been  bestowed  on  problems  of 
the  working  force  and  on  questions  of  constructive  relation- 
ship with  employees,  which  has  been  so  successfully  applied 
to  materials,  methods,  and  machinery,  we  should  have  been 
farther  along  than  we  are  to-day  in  the  matter  of  enlight- 
ened labor  management  and  industrial  relationship.  There 
can  be  no  sound  organization  where  questions  affecting  the 
working  force  are  relegated  to  a  subordinate,  or  treated  as  a 
mere  incident  in  business  enterprise.  The  truth,  fortunately 
recognized  by  an  increasing  number  of  important  industrial 
leaders,  is  that  the  man  problem  in  organization  is  the  really 
vital  one. 

In  the  first  place,  the  fact  must  be  firmly  grasped  that 
handling  employees  is  a  serious  business.  To  the  employ- 
ment department,  we  must  finally  look  for  a  solution.  And 
above  everything  else  we  must  look  to  the  character,  train- 
ing, equipment,  and  function  of  the  man  who  handles  the 
personnel. 

The  quality  of  the  working  force  determines  in  the  final 
analysis  the  quality  of  the  organization,  of  its  product,  of 
its  success. 

The  whole  drift  of  the  time  is  in  the  direction  of  greater 
attention  to  the  proper  selection,  supervision,  and  develop- 
ment of  the  industrial  worker.  The  question  is  no  longer 
an  inferior  man's  job.  The  employment  function  is  one  of 
the  vital  departments  of  a  business. 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT  47 

The  problem  of  employment  involves  three  objects: 
attracting  desirable  applicants,  selecting  applicants,  and 
retaining  employees. 

One  function  of  the  employment  manager  is  to  inter- 
view and  welcome  the  applicant  before  engagement  is 
made  definite  and  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  general 
conditions  of  the  concern.  Sometimes  by  a  visit  to  the 
plant  and  an  explanation  of  the  policies  of  the  house, 
the  manager  can  win  the  good  will  of  the  new  employee. 
He  interviews  every  employee  who  leaves,  makes  a  rec- 
ord of  his  case,  and  bids  him  farewell.  His  function  is 
primarily  to  investigate  rather  than  settle  differences; 
and  it  is  found  in  practice  that  his  intervention  is  bene- 
ficial, because  he  can  explain  to  the  parties  concerned 
how  the  policies  of  the  management  apply  to  their  cases. 
Although  employment  management  is  still  new,  it  has 
already  rendered  substantial  services  in  pointing  out 
causes  of  dissatisfaction,  in  proposing  remedies,  and  in 
decreasing  the  friction  inherent  in  all  functions.  Not- 
withstanding, the  largest  achievements  in  that  field  have 
yet  to  be  made.  A  great  advantage  of  the  employment 
department  is  that  in  such  an  organization  the  worker 
is  really  the  employee  of  the  company,  instead  of  being, 
as  under  the  old  system,  practically  the  employee  of  the 
foreman. 

Now,  the  tendency  is  to  extend  the  idea  beyond  the 
plant  and  organize  the  labor  market  under  the  joint 
supervision  and  consent  of  organizations  of  employers 
and  employed.  "For,"  says  Professor  J.  R.  Commons,5 
"only  in  this  way  can  there  be  permanently  maintained 
the  first  great  essential  in  regularizing  employment  in 
the  interest  of  both  labor  and  the  nation,  a  national  em- 

°J.  R.  Commons,  Good-Will  in  Industry, 


48  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ployment  system  enjoying  monopoly  as  complete  as  that 
of  the  post  office." 

//.  Selection. — The  necessity  for  selection  of  em- 
ployees was  suggested  by  the  constant  experience  that 
individuals,  who  nad  proved  quite  undesirable  employees 
on  a  certain  job,  succeeded  when  they  were  transferred 
to  others.  In  the  first  case,  they  were  either  physical, 
mental,  or  moral  misfits  or  were  simply  untrained  and 
unable  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  circumstances  or  to 
the  foremen.  As  a  consequence,  their  work  suffered 
either  in  quality  or  in  quantity  or  in  both.  These  con- 
ditions breed  discontent,  indifference,  and  naturally  lead 
to  leaving  or  to  discharge;  whereas  fitness  makes  con- 
tented employees,  ready  to  cooperate  with  the  right  man- 
agement. 

It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  know  whether  the  high 
rate  of  turnover  is  due  to  misfit.  J.  D.  Hackett  as- 
serted : 8 

In  an  examination  of  100,000  cases  of  the  reason  for 
leaving  work  in  some  of  the  more  representative  plants  of 
the  country,  it  was  recently  found  that  74.6  per  cent  quit, 
12.2  per  cent  were  laid  off,  and  13.2  per  cent  were  dis- 
charged. 

In  spite  of  certain  reservations  made  by  Mr.  J.  D. 
Hackett  as  to  the  exactness  of  his  figures,  the  dispro- 
portion between  the  quitting  and  the  discharged  does  not 
indicate  general  inability  to  work;  for,  in  such  a  case, 
the  proportion  should  be  reversed.  The  chief  reason 
for  a  considerable  turnover  is  consequently  not  a  misfit 
to  the  job,  but  the  unrest  caused  by  the  fundamental 

'Industrial  Management,  March,  1918. 


EVOLUTION  OF  MANAGEMENT  49 

lack  of  harmony  which  actually  exists  between  working 
and  living  conditions  and  the  aspirations  of  workpeople. 
Nevertheless,  the  question  of  selection  deserves  careful 
attention. 


CHAPTER  V 

COMPETITION  VS.  MONOPOLY 

1 6.  Competition. — Competition  is  the  outgrowth  of 
large-scale  production.  The  more  production  is  special- 
ized, the  harder  it  is  to  find  a  market  for  the  product. 
Increasing  competition  has  forced  manufacturers  con- 
stantly to  improve  their  products  and  seek  new  ways  for 
decreasing  cost  and  securing  sales.  In  that  sense,  com- 
petition is  justly  termed  the  life  of  trade. 

Yet  competition  has  its  unmitigated  evil.  When  a 
larger  supply  of  money  comes  into  circulation,  consump- 
tion increases;  enhanced  demand  brings  up  prices  and 
promises  prosperity.  Then  the  individual  manufacturer 
expands  his  business  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  attrac- 
tive market  conditions.  So  long  as  the  market  is  not 
saturated  with  goods,  the  limit  of  demand  is  not  sus- 
pected and  stocking  goes  on.  Such  unconcerted  activity 
of  traders,  based  upon  unfounded  optimism  and  secrecy, 
leads  inevitably  to  overproduction,  the  eventual  effect  of 
which  is  financial  catastrophe.  A  crisis  ensues,  followed 
by  a  long  period  of  depression. 

During  dull  times,  the  evils  of  competition  become 
even  more  apparent.  The  manufacturer,  harassed  by 
money  stringency  and  saturation  of  the  market,  struggles 
for  mere  existence.  His  fixed  charges  continue.  He 
will  sell  goods  at  any  price  that  will  bring  him  more 
than  his  fixed  charges.  Powerful  concerns  undersell 

so 


COMPETITION  VS.  MONOPOLY  51 

smaller  competitors  in  order  to  put  them  out  of  busi- 
ness, and  a  price  war  undermines  trade.  Unemployment, 
of  course,  increases.  As  to  the  economic  effect  on  labor, 
I  quote  the  following  fine  picture  from  A.  H.  Church : l 

The  struggle  should  be  a  struggle  of  brain  and  enterprise, 
but,  too  frequently,  the  victory  is  sought  by  cutting  down 
the  due  and  usual  price  of  labor  to  the  utmost  that  labor 
will  stand.  This  is  a  process  wholly  destructive,  and  there 
is  hardly  a  single  argument,  either  economic  or  moral,  that 
can  be  used  in  its  favor.  Suppose  the  original  employer  to 
be  a  man  who  has  gathered  a  contented  body  of  employees 
round  him  and  created  good  conditions  for  their  daily  work ; 
still  there  will  come  a  day  when,  if  his  competitors  are 
successful  in  cutting  the  price  of  labor,  he  will  have  to 
follow  suit  or  go  out  of  business.  Meantime,  by  the  sub- 
stitution of  poorly  paid  and  discontented  labor  for  properly 
paid  and  intelligent  labor,  the  industry  will  suffer,  and  its 
product  will  almost  certainly  become  degraded  from  its 
former  standard  of  excellence.  The  public  will  be  worse 
served  by  the  products  of  the  industry,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
see  who  has  benefited  at  all.  For  though  the  originator  of 
the  price-cutting  may  reap  a  temporary  advantage,  still  he 
cannot  keep  it  any  longer  than  it  takes  the  other  employers 
to  follow  suit.  Its  ultimate  tendency  always  is  to  drive  out 
the  best  class  of  employers  from  a  trade  and  the  best  class 
of  labor,  and  to  replace  the  former  by  sweaters  and  the 
latter  by  a  proletariat  amongst  whom  the  wildest  doctrines 
of  social  upheaval  find  their  natural  breeding  ground.  This 
is,  of  course,  most  likely  to  happen  in  unorganized  indus- 
tries, and  those  not  requiring  much  skill  either  in  adminis- 
tration or  labor.  The  employer  who  undertakes  to  force 
down  the  price  of  labor,  or  allows  his  subordinates  to  do  so, 
is  then  first  of  all  the  worst  kind  of  enemy  to  his  brother 
employers,  as  well  as  a  bad  citizen.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
this  point  is  but  imperfectly  appreciated  by  those  who  have 
suffered  from  the  aggressiveness  of  unions,  but  a  little 

1A.  H.  Church,  The  Science  and  Practice  of  Management. 


52  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

thought  will  show  that  there  is  no  escape  from  the  truth  of 
the  proposition.  A  further  and  more  impersonal  effect  is 
that  the  purchasing  power  of  one  section  of  the  people  has 
been  restricted  and  this  restriction  is  felt,  however  micro- 
scopically, throughout  all  industry. 

Labor  troubles  usually  follow  such  economic  disturb- 
ances and  they  are  encouraged  by  competition  because,  as 
Professor  Meade  declared : 2 

Few  employers  feel  safe  in  standing  out  against  the  union 
and  thus  precipitating  a  strike,  for  fear  lest  some  of  their 
competitors  should  grant  the  demands,  keep  their  mills  run- 
ning, and  get  the  orders  which  the  strike  prevented  them 
from  executing  or  accepting,  and  in  the  profit  of  which 
these  competitors  might  find  ample  compensation  for  the 
concessions  in  wages  and  hours  which  had  been  made  to 
secure  this  increased  business  from  less  complaisant  rivals. 

That  is,  competition  prevents  common  action  among  em- 
ployers against  what  they  believe  to  be  the  unreasonable 
demands  of  labor  unions.  Thus  the  struggle  is  main- 
tained between  the  individual  employer  and  his  personnel 
and  there  is  no  possibility  of  settlement. 

17.  Combinations. — At  the  close  of  the  industrial 
depression,  ending  in  1898,  it  became  evident  that  free 
competition  is  the  death  of  profits;  and  it  was  generally 
felt  that  the  life  of  trade  is  cooperation.  As  a  conse- 
quence, hardly  an  industry  escaped  consolidation. 
Failure  of  unrestricted  competition  gave  rise  to  the  ten- 
dency toward  centralized  control  of  industries. 

The  combination  of  kindred  industries  offered  a  most 

promising  field  for  economy.     Maintenance  of  profitable 

prices  was  not  the  sole  advantage.     A  series  of  wastes 

was  to  be  eliminated,  such  as  duplication  in  selling  and 

1 E.  S.  Meade,  Trust  Finance. 


COMPETITION  VS.  MONOPOLY  53 

advertising  expenses  and  in  special  equipment  and  per- 
sonnel. A  more  constant  operation  of  special,  costly 
machinery  was  contemplated.  Finally,  a  centralized  con- 
trol permitted  more  liberal  policies  as  to  labor,  more 
advantages  in  dealing  with  unions,  and  the  reduction  of 
fluctuations,  so  far  as  they  are  controllable.  A  great 
argument  in  favor  of  combination  has  been  that  over- 
production of  commodities,  due  to  ignorance  of  condi- 
tions, secrecy,  and  misrepresentation  will  cease ;  and  with 
it  will  cease  one  of  the  causes  of  crises.  Of  course,  such 
combinations  presented  disadvantages.  Made  in  re- 
straint of  trade,  they  naturally  aroused  public  hostility; 
hence  the  so-called  trust  problem.  "The  basis  of  antag- 
onism to  trusts,"  says  Professor  Meade,  is  "its  real  or 
fancied  ability  to  charge  extortionate  prices ;  its  influence 
in  politics,  the  excessive  capitalization  of  many  of  the 
trusts,  and  the  stock  manipulations." 

Whereas  the  greater  part  of  our  industrial  system  still 
continues  competitive,  on  account  of  the  interdependence 
of  industries,  the  area  of  the  power  of  capitalistic  com- 
binations is  growing.  The  evils  of  combinations,  how- 
ever, are  being  modified  by  a  continual  process  of 
adaptation,  as  we  may  infer  from  Professor  H.  R. 
Seager : 8 

If  effective  measures  are  taken  to  prevent  rate  discrim- 
inations on  the  part  of  the  transportation  companies  and 
price  discriminations  and  unfair  contracts  with  retailers  on 
the  part  of  the  trusts  themselves,  it  is  believed  that  the 
movement  toward  combinations  will  be  checked,  and  that 
such  combinations  as  continue  to  be  effected  will  have  back 
of  them  reasons  not  opposed  to  public  policy.  For  behind 
the  trust  movement  are  more  solid  and  creditable  motives 

*  H.  R.  Seager,  Principles  of  Economics. 


54  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

than  the  activity  of  unscrupulous  promoters  and  the  monop- 
oly hunger  of  greedy  manufacturers.  The  economies  of 
combination  are  in  many  cases  both  real  and  substantial, 
and  a  public  policy  that  opposes  all  forms  of  combination 
is  as  unenlightened  as  it  must  in  the  long  run  be  futile. 
The  most  effective  weapon  wielded  by  the  public  for  dealing 
with  the  trusts,  as  with  other  actual  and  potential  monop- 
olies, is  the  consumer's  power  to  substitute  other  goods  for 
those  which  the  trust  enhances  in  price.  As  consumption 
and  processes  of  production  become  more  varied  in  their 
range,  this  power  acquires  wider  scope.  It  already  effectu- 
ally precludes  excessive  profits  to  any  very  large  number  of 
businesses  and  limits  the  monopoly  problem  to  those  few 
services  and  commodities  which  remain  indispensable  to 
civilized  existence,  such  as  transportation  facilities,  coal, 
iron,  petroleum,  salt,  sugar,  etc. 

And  elsewhere  he  says :  4 

I  do  not  believe  that  many  trusts  will  show  a  monopolistic 
character,  even  though  the  fullest  liberty  be  given  to  the 
combination  movement.  It  is  for  that  reason  that  I  do  not 
look  forward  to  an  indefinite  extension  of  state  industries. 

1 8.  Monopoly. — The  great  advantage  of  combina- 
tion is  that  it  follows  the  law  of  industrial  progress; 
namely,  a  greater  division  of  labor  and  a  centralized 
coordination  of  specialized  efforts.  One  result  is  in- 
creased productive  power;  another  should  be  a  corre- 
sponding advance  in  the  well-being  of  the  individual 
members  of  society.  This  ideal,  unfortunately,  is  not  to 
be  attained  through  combinations  alone. 

Labor  does  not  see  its  welfare  increased  in  proportion 
to  its  tenfold  magnified  productivity.  It  has  become 
conscious  that  unfair  manipulation  is  being  wrought  at 

*H.  R.  Seager,  Government  Regulation  of  Big  Business  in  the 
Future. 


COMPETITION  VS.  MONOPOLY  55 

its  expense.  Neither  machinery,  specialization,  coopera- 
tion, nor  combination  brings  prosperity  or  comfort  to 
that  third  of  the  population  which  still  lives  hopeless 
under  sub-standard  conditions.  Consequently,  labor 
universalizes  its  opposition  to  capital.  It  criticizes  the 
monopoly  of  wealth  accumulated  by  the  past,  from  whose 
enjoyment  labor  has  been  excluded,  as  well  as  the  ill  dis- 
tribution of  wealth  actually  produced.  The  present 
disequilibrium  of  economic  forces  has  engendered  reac- 
tions which  tend  to  distribute  more  equitably  among 
different  groups  of  society  the  power  of  monopoly. 
Against  the  combinations  of  capital  stand  three  com- 
peting monopolies : 

1.  Trade  unions,  which  tend  to  monopolize  labor. 

2.  State  socialism,  which  substitutes  public  for  private 
monopoly. 

3.  Cooperative  societies,  which  aim  to  distribute  the 
power  of  monopoly  among  the  consumers  themselves. 

These  movements  are  considered  separately  in  the  fol- 
lowing chapters.  The  growth  of  monopolies,  in  differ- 
ent directions,  indicates  that  the  present  tendency  is  not 
to  abolish  monopoly  but  to  improve  its  methods  and  re- 
tain its  advantages.  The  Federal  Trade  Commission  and 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  aim  at  correcting 
monopoly  abuses  through  publicity  and  prosecution. 
Moreover,  legislation  is  ever  enlarging  the  field  of  gov- 
ernment control  over  industrial  combines,  in  order  to 
limit,  for  the  benefit  of  the  community,  the  privileges  of 
capitalistic  monopoly.  On  the  other  hand,  the  threat- 
ening strikes  on  the  American  railways  in  1916  and  1917 
and  the  actual  strike  of  coal  miners  made  everybody  feel 
that  the  monopoly  of  labor  can  affect  the  community. 
The  acute  situations  which  these  strikes  created  showed 


56  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

that  some  limitation  also  must  be  imposed  upon  the 
monopoly  of  labor. 

19.  Present  Tendencies. — A  survey  of  the  present 
stage  in  evolution  of  modern  capitalism  does  not  warrant 
the  belief  that  any  one  system  of  control  of  trade  and 
industry  will  prevail  and  exclude  others.  Every  system 
has  its  advantages  and  will  develop  along  the  line  which 
suits  it  best  and,  by  an  experimental  process  of  adapta- 
tion to  conditions,  will  undergo  such  modifications  as 
will  minimize  conflicts  of  interests.  In  other  words,  the 
conflict  of  interests  will  approach  more  nearly  a  condi- 
tion of  equilibrium. 

Present  tendencies  may  be  outlined  as  follows : 

1.  Free  competition  will  always  remain  the  source  of 
progress.    It  offers  the  natural  field  for  men  of  initiative 
or  of  special  ability,  that  is,   for  pioneers.     It  applies 
best  to  those  special  industries  which  are  subject  to  large 
fluctuations,  and  finally  it  is  indispensable  to  industries 
which  are  still  in  the  experimental  stage  or  in  process  of 
development. 

2.  Combinations  seem  to  be  limited  to  production  and 
distribution  of  staples,  such  as : 

(a)  Steel,  which  is  not  for  general  consumption. 

(6)  Coal  and  oil,  which  are  for  general  consumption, 
but  the  production  of  which  is  more  important  than  dis- 
tribution. 

3.  Cooperative  societies  which  are  best  for  the  enter- 
prise of  distribution  of  staples  for  general  consumption 
and  the  production  of  those  standardized  staples  which 
do  not  involve  large  capital. 

4.  Government  operation  which  is  naturally  restricted 
to  public  services  for  they  vitally  concern  the  community ; 


COMPETITION  VS.  MONOPOLY  57 

such  as  railroads,  street  railways,  electricity,  gas,  water, 
wharves. 

Since  an  industry  in  the  course  of  its  development  is 
apt  to  pass  from  one  of  these  systems  to  another,  experi- 
ence alone  can  determine  the  actual  classification  of  a 
given  industry  at  any  time  and  place.  We  shall  see  in 
the  following  chapters  the  influence  of  state  socialism 
and  cooperative  societies  upon  the  good  will  of  labor. 


CHAPTER  VI 

TRADE  UNIONS 

20.  Origin  of  Unionism. — The  labor  problem  origi- 
nated from  two  conflicting  points  of  view  as  to  the  true 
status  of  labor  in  our  industrial  system.  The  employer 
said:  "Labor  is  a  commodity  which  I  have  a  right  to 
purchase  in  the  open  market  at  as  low  a  figure  as  I  can." 
The  laborer  said:  "I  am  a  copartner  with  capital  in 
industry,  and  as  a  copartner  I  am  entitled  to  be  heard 
on  the  question  of  how  industry  shall  be  conducted ;  that 
is,  on  the  hours  of  work  and  the  questions  of  physical 
safety  and  insurance.  I  am  also  entitled  to  have  a  voice 
as  to  my  share  in  the  proceeds  of  industry." 

It  is  the  immediate  interest  of  the  employer  to  get, 
within  reasonable  limits,  all  that  he  can  out  of  his  men 
for  as  low  wages  as  possible;  while  it  is  the  interest  of 
the  employee  to  get  for  his  services  as  high  a  return  as 
he  can.  With  the  growth  and  rapid  concentration  of 
capital,  labor  soon  saw  that  it  must  accept  the  commodity 
status  assigned  to  it  by  capital  or  combine  as  capital  had 
done,  and  so,  through  the  increased  power  thus  gained, 
assert  its  claims.  The  result  has  been  the  rise  of  the 
institution  known  as  the  trade  union. 

The  union  stands  as  a  protest  against  reducing  wages 
to  the  mere  cost  of  living,  which  obtains  under  individual 
bargaining.    As  Dr.  Frank  J.  Warne  pointed  out : l 
1  F.  J.  Warne,  The  Coal  Mine  Workers. 

58 


TRADE  UNIONS  59 

The  trade  union  not  only  emphasizes  higher  money  wages 
for  the  working  classes,  but  it  seeks  to  secure  for  them 
better  homes,  not  merely  better  houses,  lower  prices  for  the 
commodities  they  consume,  more  opportunities  for  their 
children  in  the  schoolhouse,  better  clothes  and  food  for  their 
wives  and  children,  greater  safeguard  against  injury  and 
death  in  hazardous  employments,  insurance  and  relief  bene- 
fits, fewer  hours  of  work,  and  innumerable  other  "rights" 
which  they  do  not  now  enjoy  and  which  will  ever  be  denied 
to  them  if  they  themselves  do  not  control,  through  the  trade 
union,  the  forces  which  are  ever  at  work  to  bring  about  low 
wages  and  adverse  conditions  of  employment. 

Under  a  free  competitive  system  in  the  labor  market,  as 
would  be  the  case  were  there  no  unions,  the  man  with  the 
lower  standard  of  living  must  displace  the  man  with  the 
high  standard.  This  is  not  necessarily  the  fault  of  the 
employer,  who  must  get  his  labor  as  cheaply  as  his  com- 
petitors or  be  forced  out  of  business.  The  union  is  the 
only  method  left  to  labor,  whereby  it  can  combat  the  eco- 
nomic forces  which  tend  to  force  wages  down. 

Professor  E.  S.  Meade  explains  the  philosophy  of  the 
union  as  follows :  2 

Under  the  conditions  of  modern  industry  where  all  the 
tools  of  production  are  in  the  hands  of  one  group,  the 
single-handed  individual  laborer  is  not  in  a  position  to  make 
a  fair  bargain  for  his  wages.  A  fair  bargain  implies  more 
or  less  of  equality  between  those  making  it.  A  man  who  is 
in  a  position  where  he  must  either  take  what  is  offered  him 
or  do  without,  is  not  in  any  real  sense  making  a  bargain  or 
contract.  The  union  steps  in  at  this  point  to  place  labor  in  a 
position  where  it  can  bargain  for  itself,  for  just  in  propor- 
tion as  the  laborers  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  can  they 
make  their  demands  known  and  felt. 

Among  the  so-called  abuses  of  the  union  is  the  policy  of 
the  closed  shop.  It  is  impossible  to  pass  any  general  verdict 

JE.  S.  Meade,  Economics. 


to  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

on  the  justice  of  this  policy.  Most  Americans  are  inclined  to 
condemn  it  offhand  as  an  attempt  to  deprive  the  non-union 
of  his  "sacred  right  to  work."  They  forget  that  the  union 
man  enforces  the  closed  shop  policy  by  an  exercise  of  his 
"sacred  right  to  quit  work."  Two  equally  "sacred  and  un- 
alienable  rights"  clash  in  the  contest.  The  philosophy  of 
social  expediency  and  not  the  philosophy  of  rights  can 
decide  such  a  question.  There  is  nothing  inherently  wrong 
in  the  policy  of  a  closed  shop  provided  it  is  maintained  for 
lawful  ends,  chief  of  which  is  the  guarantee  of  an  American 
standard  of  living  to  American  workmen. 

The  by-laws  ruling  groups  of  men  have  always  been 
dictated  under  the  pressure  of  urgent  necessity.  Stand- 
ards of  conduct  imposed  upon  their  members  by  groups 
of  brokers,  lawyers,  physicians,  priests,  etc.,  are  all  the 
more  pressing  because  the  very  existence  of  the  groups 
depends  upon  the  observance  of  these  standards.  Conse- 
quently, the  union  follows  the  general  rule  of  group- 
formation  by  imposing  a  certain  standard  of  discipline 
and  self-denial  upon  working  people  who,  in  turn,  secure 
the  existence  of  the  union — the  living  expression  of  their 
group — by  accepting  submissively  the  sacrifice  of  their 
individual  liberty.  It  is  quite  natural  that  union  men 
look  upon  non-union  men  as  social  malefactors. 

21.  The  Struggle  of  Unions. — This  is  no  place  to 
repeat  the  history  of  labor  troubles,8  but  we  shall  try  to 
discover  the  cause  of  antagonism  between  employers  and 
unions.  In  reality,  the  parties  in  the  contest  have  been 
four:  on  the  one  hand,  the  individual  employer  fighting 
for  his  immediate  existence  and  his  competitors  trying 
to  annihilate  him;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  unions 
fighting  against  the  employer  for  the  advancement  of 


*  See  a  criticism  of  unions  in  The  Survey,  vol.  xxxiii,  December, 
1914. 


TRADE  UNIONS  61 

the  working  class  and  non-union  men  individually  com- 
peting with  one  another  for  an  immediate  living. 

The  essential  reason  for  opposing  unions  lies  in  their 
destructive  character,  which  results  from  combating  the 
individual  employer  who  stands  for  "the  economic  forces 
which  tend  to  force  wages  down."  Whereas  the  indus- 
trial group  of  employers  is  responsible  for  the  general 
situation  of  labor,  yet  this  group  of  employers  is  not 
organized  and  represented  so  as  to  bargain  collectively 
with  the  group  of  labor. 

Employers  and  unions  do  not  struggle  on  the  same 
plane.  It  is  impossible  for  the  individual  employer, 
isolated  among  hostile  economic  forces,  to  meet  the 
claims  of  labor  as  a  class.  As  a  consequence,  employers 
were  compelled  to  associate  in  order  to  secure  their  ex- 
istence against  the  rising  tide  of  coercion  from  organized 
labor.  By  the  usual  concordance  of  phenomena,  since 
the  primary  movement  was  destructive,  the  reaction 
against  it  was  destructive.  Thus  came  into  existence  class 
struggle,  characterized  by  its  spirit  of  hate.  Employers' 
associations  fought  labor  organizations  with  their  own 
weapons,  matching  the  lockout  against  the  strike,  the 
blacklist  against  the  boycott,  and  the  labor  bureau 
against  the  unfair  list  of  the  trade-union  journals.  This 
state  of  warfare  has  naturally  proved  to  be  very  unde- 
sirable to  all :  the  employers,  the  employees,  and  the  pub- 
lic; and,  as  a  consequence,  different  schemes,  such  as 
collective  bargaining  and  arbitration,  have  been  proposed 
to  settle  labor  disputes. 

Now,  on  the  ground  of  reciprocity,  the  recognition  of 
the  right  to  organize  is  rapidly  progressing.  Since  capi- 
tal may  combine  and  speak  through  representatives,  labor 
also  may  unite  its  strength  and  defend  its  interests 


62  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

through  its  representatives.  But  the  choice  of  repre- 
sentatives of  labor  is  a  difficult  question  which  still  pre- 
vents employers  from  agreeing  upon  the  method  of 
making  collective  bargaining  effective. 

Occupational  unions  generally  have  similar  interests 
and  claims  against  employers,  although  some  unions  are 
immediately  competitive,  such  as  those  between  men  and 
women  or  those  between  machinists  and  automatic- 
machine  operators.  But  the  economic  claims  against 
industry,  of  unions  of  different  trades,  are  frankly  com- 
petitive. When  collective  bargaining  shall  have  received 
a  more  general  application,  wages  and  hours  will  appear 
to  labor  in  their  real  significance,  as  elements  of  cost  of 
production  and  consequently  of  cost  of  living,  and  will 
transfer  the  conflict  of  interests  to  the  different  groups 
of  labor. 

22.  American  Trade  Unionism. — I.  Political  Atti- 
tude.— There  are  two  ways  in  which  labor  can  unite  its 
forces  to  secure  advancement:  by  forming  trade  unions 
or  by  forming  a  political  party.  Both  have  been  followed 
abroad;  but,  in  America,  unionism  has  had  by  far  the 
largest  development.  The  American  Federation  of 
Labor,  dwelling  upon  its  policy  of  keeping  aloof  from 
politics,  said,  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Education  and 
Labor,  in  its  report  presented  on  January  15,  1919: 

The  disastrous  experience  of  labor  in  America  with 
political  parties  of  its  own  amply  justified  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor's  non-partisan  political  policy. 

But  two  warring  factions  toward  political  action  have 
long  existed  in  the  ranks  of  organized  labor  in  America. 
At  a  convention  held  in  Chicago  in  November,  1919,  the 
radical  faction  organized  a  new  national  labor  party. 


TRADE  UNIONS  63 

This  convention  was  a  rank-and-file  movement  made  up 
of  delegates  from  local  or  central  organizations  in  thirty- 
five  states.  The  resolutions  of  the  new  party  read  as 
follows : 

The  Labor  party  was  organized  to  assemble  into  a  new 
majority  the  men  and  women  who  work  but  who  have  been 
scattered  as  helpless  minorities  in  the  old  parties  under  the 
leadership  of  the  confidence  men  of  big  business. 

These  confidence  men,  by  exploitation,  rob  the  workers  of 
the  product  of  their  activities  and  use  the  huge  profits  thus 
gained  to  finance  the  old  political  parties,  by  which  they 
gain  and  keep  control  of  the  Government.  They  withhold 
money  from  the  worker  and  use  it  to  make  him  pay  for  his 
own  defeat. 

Labor  is  aware  of  this,  and  throughout  the  world  the 
workers  have  reached  the  determination  to  reverse  this 
condition  and  take  control  of  their  own  lives  and  their  own 
Government. 

In  this  country  this  can  and  must  be  achieved  peacefully 
by  the  workers  uniting  and  marching  in  unbroken  phalanx 
to  the  ballot  boxes.  It  is  the  mission  of  the  Labor  party  to 
bring  this  to  pass. 

II.  Policies. — The  conservative  wing  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor  thinks  that  the  fundamental  error 
upon  which  political  action  is  based  consists  in  crediting 
government  with  the  power  to  solve  the  problems  that 
affect  the  relations  between  employer  and  employees. 
Therefore,  it  appeals  to  the  spirit  of  independence  and 
to  a  realization  of  the  truth  that  the  workers  must  de- 
pend upon  themselves  for  the  improvement  of  the  con- 
ditions of  labor.  Their  power  inheres  in  labor,  not  in 
the  ballot ;  it  is  in  the  power  to  produce ;  and,  in  the  last 
analysis,  the  power  to  stop  production.  To  conserve 
and  concentrate  that  power  is  the  first  and  last  duty  of 


64  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

trade-unionism.     Samuel  Gompers  declared  its  policies 
as  follows : 4 

In  improving  the  conditions  from  day  to  day  the  organ- 
ized labor  movement  has  no  "fixed  program"  for  human 
progress.  We  do  not  set  any  particular  standard,  but  work 
for  the  best  possible  conditions  immediately  obtainable  for 
the  workers.  When  they  are  obtained,  then  we  strive  for 
better.  .  .  .  The  movement  of  the  working  people,  whether 
under  the  A.  F.  of  L.  or  not,  will  simply  follow  the  human 
impulse  for  improvement  in  conditions  wherever  that  may 
lead;  and  so  they  will  go  without  aiming  at  any  theoretical 
goal.  Human  impulse  for  self-betterment  will  lead  con- 
stantly to  the  material,  physical,  social,  and  moral  betterment 
of  the  people.  We  decline  to  commit  our  labor  movement 
to  any  species  of  speculative  philosophy. 

When  a  fair  and  reasonable  opportunity  presents  itself 
for  continuous  improvement  in  the  conditions  of  the  work- 
ers, the  movement  of  the  worker  must  necessarily  go  on  and 
will  go  on.  It  will  not  be  dominated  by  the  so-called  intel- 
lectuals or  "butters-in."  The  working  class  movement  to  be 
most  effective  must  be  conducted  by  the  workers  them- 
selves. It  is  conducted  against  those  who  stand  in  the  way, 
hostile  to  the  advancement  of  conditions  for  the  working 
people.  It  is  conducted  against  those  employers  who  refuse 
to  understand  modern  industrial  conditions  and  the  constant 
need  for  the  advancement  of  the  working  people  and  who 
refuse  to  accede  to  the  demands  of  the  workers. 

The  American  Federation  of  Labor,  in  number  by 
far  the  most  important  labor  organization,  is  the  con- 
servative body.  Briefly  stated,  it  stands  for:  (i)  the 
eight-hour  day,  (2)  the  right  to  organize  and  bargain 
collectively,  (3)  a  progressive  advancement  of  wages, 
and  (4)  the  adjustment  of  wages  to  the  cost  of  living. 

The  other  organizations  that  claim  to  speak  for  labor 
are  much  less  important.  Their  radicalism  runs  from 

4  Samuel  Gompers,  The  American  Labor  Movement. 


TRADE  UNIONS  65 

government  ownership  of  public  utilities  to  Bolshevism. 
The  more  radical  element  in  organized  labor  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Reading  (Va.)  Labor  Advocate,  which 
declared : 5 

American  delegates  at  any  labor  conference  should  insist- 
ently stand  for  the  complete  socialization  of  industry,  the 
substitution  of  industrial  democracy  for  political  democracy 
along  lines  similar  to  the  Russian  Soviet  Government,  and 
the  elimination  of  the  profit  system  of  production. 

The  policy  of  these  radical  organizations,  which  con- 
sists in  creating  chronic  trouble,  has  often  been  confused 
with  the  propaganda  of  the  occupational  unions;  and 
hence  these  have  been  mistakenly  charged  with  all  labor 
unrest. 

///.  New  Status. — Organized  labor  in  occupational 
unions  has  come  out  of  the  war  greatly  strengthened.  In 
two  years,  the  membership  in  unions  affiliated  with  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor  increased  from  2,000,000 
to  3,000,000.  At  the  outset  of  the  war,  the  government 
found  itself  obliged  to  encourage  organization  of  labor. 
The  War  Labor  Board,  moreover,  declared  three  rights 
of  labor:  (i)  to  organize  and  bargain  collectively,  (2) 
to  a  limited  number  of  hours  of  labor,  and  (3)  to  a  liv- 
ing wage.  As  a  result,  collective  bargaining  has  ex- 
tended independently  of  the  growth  of  unions. 

8  Literary  Digest  for  February  8,  1919. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SOCIALISM 

23.  Origin  of  Socialism. — During  the  early  develop- 
ment of  our  industry,  free  competition  created  a  situa- 
tion in  which  excessive  concentration  of  wealth  con- 
trasted with  extreme  misery.  When  it  became  evident 
that  the  conditions  of  labor  did  not  improve  with  the 
increase  of  production,  it  was  felt  that  something  was 
wrong  with  the  distribution  of  wealth.  Then,  reform- 
ers, among  whom  were  Fourrier,  Saint  Simon,  and 
Owen,  imagined  Utopian  social  orders  in  which  every- 
thing was  as  it  ought  to  be.  They  even  established 
different  communist  experiments,  which  inspired  great 
hopes  of  social  regeneration,  but  which  soon  proved  to 
be  impracticable.  In  1848,  the  "Communist  Manifesto" 
of  Karl  Marx  and  F.  Engels  rekindled  the  faith  in  a 
better  world  through  an  ideal  of  larger  citizenship.  In 
this  first  declaration  of  an  International  Workingmen 
Party,  the  authors  made  this  famous  appeal  which  has 
become  the  motto  of  propagandists : 

"The  proletariat  have  nothing  to  lose  but  their 
chains.  They  have  a  world  to  win.  Workingmen  of  all 
countries  unite!" 

The  "Communist  Manifesto"  is  the  cornerstone  of 
modern  socialism.  Socialists  say  that  private  ownership 
of  the  tools  of  production,  formerly  the  means  of  secur- 
ing to  the  worker  the  ownership  of  his  product,  has 

66 


SOCIALISM  67 

become  the  means  by  which  capitalists  exploit  workers. 
Consequently,  since  all  commodities  to-day  are  socially 
produced,  they  propose  an  industrial  system  in  which 
land  and  means  of  production  and  distribution  shall  be 
socially  owned  and  democratically  controlled  so  that  all 
rents,  interests,  and  profits  shall  benefit  society  instead  of 
benefiting  individuals.  This  is  the  ideal  about  which  all 
socialists  generally  agree.  As  to  the  social  program  and 
means  of  its  realization,  socialists  are  divided  into  differ- 
ent factions.  From  the  beginning,  two  tendencies  have 
distinguished  this  movement:  the  reformist  and  the  rev- 
olutionist. 

The  reformists  are  more  numerous.  In  the  process  of 
evolution,  they  see  successive  social  effects,  progressively 
engendered  by  new  ideas.  They  conceive  the  transforma- 
tion of  society  as  a  slow  but  uninterrupted  series  of  modi- 
fications taking  place  under  the  influence  of  time,  en- 
vironment, and  stimuli.  They  admit  the  principle  of  his- 
torical continuity. 

The  revolutionists  are  more  violent.  At  first,  they  con- 
ceived evolution  as  a  result  of  a  sudden  revolution.  But 
later  they  came  to  conceive  evolution  as  a  continuous 
action  which  constantly  increases  the  class  struggle  and 
which  aggravates,  by  continually  renewed  conflicts,  the 
differences  between  labor  and  the  rest  of  society.  They 
assert  that  the  consummation  must  be  brought  about  by 
the  accumulation  of  partial  catastrophes.  They  admit 
the  principle  of  historical  discontinuity. 

24.  Political  Socialism: — /.  Evolution  of  Dogma- 
tism into  Opportunism. — In  the  beginning  of  prop/a- 
ganda,  socialism  was  a  simple,  religious  belief  in  im- 
mediate redemption  of  society  through  revolutionary  re- 
placement of  private  ownership  by  government  owner- 


68  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ship  of  land  and  of  all  means  of  production.  This  be- 
lief, of  course,  inspired  violent  attempts  to  get  power,  but 
violence  made  socialism  very  unpopular  and  long  hin- 
dered its  development.  Unsuccess  forced  the  leaders  to 
study  more  closely  social  problems,  to  reshape  their  doc- 
trine and  to  adopt  more  acceptable  means  of  propa- 
ganda. They  realized  that  without  acquiring  political 
power,  they  could  not  effect  the  passing  of  capitalistic  into 
socialistic  society.  Then  they  got  a  steady  increase  in  the 
number  of  adherents,  recruited  from  all  walks  of  life, 
and  they  formed  a  strong  political  party,  which  succeeded 
in  bringing  social  problems  to  the  attention  of  the  world. 

Guesde,  who,  in  France,  was  an  early  proponent  of 
Marx's  theory,  conceived  society  as  a  rigid,  military,  state 
organization.  A  powerful  staff  was  to  concentrate  the 
whole  power  and  direct  docile  disciplined  masses.  He  be- 
lieved that  men  were  equal  and  unselfish  and  that,  if  free, 
they  would  sacrifice  self-interest  for  the  good  of  all  and 
cooperate  in  bringing  about  a  state  of  perfect  equality, 
liberty  and  fraternity. 

Up  to  about  1900,  socialists  were  dogmatic  and  be- 
lieved in  the  possibility  of  a  quick  and  simple  transforma- 
tion of  society,  but  later  experience  has  made  them  much 
wiser.  Now,  although  they  hold  a  definite  program,  they 
really  have  adopted  a  reformist  attitude  of  guiding  evolu- 
tion.1 They  have  come  to  realize  that  such  transforma- 
tion cannot  be  effected  by  decrees,  but  only  by  the  slow 
process  of  changing  the  mind  of  people  and  improving 
opportunity.  Moreover,  belief  in  equality  and  fraternity 
has  been  very  much  shattered. 

II.  Platform  of  Modern  Socialism. — It  is  interesting 
to  know  what  socialists  at  present  stand  for.  The  pro- 

1  See  John  Spargo,  Socialism. 


SOCIALISM  69 

gram  of  the  Socialist  Party  of  the  United  States,  adopted 
by  the  National  Convention  of  May,  1912,  among  other 
things,  contains  the  following: 

The  capitalistic  system  has  outgrown  its  historical  func- 
tion, and  has  become  incapable  of  meeting  the  problems 
now  confronting  society.  We  denounce  this  outgrown  sys- 
tem as  incompetent  and  corrupt  and  the  source  of  unspeak- 
able misery  and  suffering  to  the  whole  working  class.  We 
declare,  therefore,  that  the  longer  sufferance  of  these  con- 
ditions is  impossible  and  we  propose  to  end  them  all.  We 
declare  them  to  be  the  product  of  the  present  system  in 
which  industry  is  carried  on  for  private  greed,  instead  of 
for  the  welfare  of  society.  We  declare,  furthermore,  that 
for  these  evils  there  will  be  and  can  be  no  remedy  and  no 
substantial  relief  except  through  socialism,  under  which 
industry  will  be  carried  on  for  the  common  good  and  every 
worker  receive  the  full  value  of  the  wealth  he  creates. 

Society  is  divided  into  warring  groups  and  classes,  based 
upon  material  interests.  Fundamentally,  the  struggle  is  a 
conflict  between  the  two  main  classes,  one  of  which,  the 
capitalistic  class,  owns  the  means  of  production,  and  the 
other,  the  working  class,  must  use  these  means  of  produc- 
tion on  terms  dictated  by  the  owners. 

The  program  of  collective  ownership  reads  as  follows : 

1.  The  collective  ownership  and  democratic  management 
of  railroads,  wire  and  wireless  telegraphs  and  telephones, 
express  services,  steamboat  lines,  and  all  other  social  means 
of  transportation  and  communication,  and  of  all  large  scale 
industries. 

2.  The  immediate  acquirement  by  the  municipalities,  the 
states,  or  the  federal  government  of  all  grain  elevators, 
stock   yards,    storage   warehouses,   and   other   distributing 
agencies  in  order  to  reduce  the  present  extortionate  cost  of 
living. 

3.  The  extension  of  the  public  domain  to  include  mines, 
quarries,  oil  wells,  forests,  and  water-power. 


70  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

4.  The  further  conservation  and  development  of  natural 
resources  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  all  the  people. 

5.  The  collective  ownership  of  land  wherever  practicable, 
and  in  cases  where  such  ownership  is  impracticable,  the 
appropriation  by  taxation  of  the  annual  rental  value  of  all 
land  held  for  speculation  or  exploitation. 

6.  The  collective  ownership  and  democratic  management 
of  the  banking  and  currency  system. 

Then  follows  a  program  of  industrial  demands:* 

The  conservation  of  human  resources,  particularly  of  the 
lives  and  well-being  of  the  workers  and  their  families : 

1.  By  shortening  the  workday  in  keeping  with  the  in- 
creased productiveness  of  machinery. 

2.  By  securing  to  every  worker  a  rest  period  of  not  less 
than  a  day  and  a  half  each  week. 

3.  By  securing  more  effective  inspection  of  workshops, 
factories,  and  mines. 

4.  By  forbidding  the  employment  of  children  under  16 
years  of  age. 

5.  By  the  cooperative  organization  of  the  industries  in 
the  federal  penitentiaries,  for  the  benefit  of  the  convicts  and 
their  dependents. 

6.  By    forbidding   the   interstate   transportation    of    the 
products  of  child  labor,  of  convict  labor,  and  of  all  unin- 
spected factories  and  mines. 

7.  By  abolishing  the  profit  system  in  government  work 
and  substituting  either  the  direct  hire  of  labor  or  the  award- 
ing of  contracts  to  cooperative  groups  of  workers. 

8.  By  establishing  minimum  wage  scales. 

9.  By  abolishing  official  charity  and  substituting  a  non- 
contributory  system  of  old-age  pensions,  a  general  system 
of  insurance  by  the  state  of  all  its  members  against  unem- 
ployment   and    invalidism,    and   a    system   of   compulsory 
insurance  by  employers  of  their  workers,  without  cost  to 
the  latter,  against  industrial  diseases,  accidents,  and  death. 

1 W.  E.  Walling,  The  Socialism  of  To-day. 


SOCIALISM  71 

Prominent  American  socialists  have  recently  repudi- 
ated the  party  on  the  charge  that  its  doctrines  have  be- 
come contaminated  with  the  principles  of  syndicalism.8 

25.  Revolutionary  Syndicalism: — /.  Origin. — The 
evolution  of  French  socialism  involves  three  periods: 

1.  During  the  first  period,  from  1873  UP  to  l%&5>  our 
modern  society,  based  upon  the  right  of  property,  free 
competition  and  liberty  of  contract,  was  opposed  by  dog- 
matic socialism  only,  to  which  Karl  Marx  was  supposed 
to  have  given  final,  scientific  form.     In  spite  of  their 
divisions  in  five  different  groups,  all  socialists  agreed 
upon  the  following  fundamental  points :  monopoly  of  the 
tools  of  production  by  the  state,  acquisition  of  political 
power  by  the  laboring  class,  and  creation  of  an  inter- 
national union  of  labor. 

2.  The  French  law  of  1884  authorized  laborers  as  well 
as  employers  to  associate  into  occupational  syndicates  for 
the  study  and  defense  of  their  common  economic,  indus- 
trial, commercial,  and  agricultural  interests.     From  that 
time,  many  such  syndicates  were  founded  and  united  into 
the  National  Federation  of  Syndicates,  the  initial  purpose 
of  which  was  mutual  assistance  in  the  defense  of  their 
common  interests.    In  fact,  these  young  associations  had 
no  clear  ideas  as  to  their  interests  or  the  ways  and  means 
of  defense;  and,  as  a  consequence,  they  accepted  the 
guidance  of  experienced  politicians.     These  men  eagerly 
sought  their  votes,  and  so  the  Federation  became  the 
trade  branch  of  the  French  Socialist  Party  and  remained 
so  up  to  1892. 

From  1890  on,  the  syndicates  originated  a  reaction 
against  the  depressing  domination  of  the  Socialist  Party 
composed  of  people  of  all  classes,  rejected  the  tutelage  of 

'Current  Opinion  for  August,  1918. 


72  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  politicians,  and  wanted  only  workingmen  as  leaders. 
By  1892,  the  separation  had  been  completed  and 
syndicalism  had  become  autonomous  and  independent  of 
any  political  party.  Its  organization  is  the  General  Con- 
federation of  Labor  (Confederation  Generate  du  Travail, 
or  "C.  G.  T."),  founded  in  1895. 

3.  The  third  period,  beginning  in  1900,  is  marked  by 
the  formation  of  a  staff  of  capable  leaders  who  have 
given  syndicalism  a  most  powerful  impetus  and  have  de- 
veloped among  the  workers  energy,  education  for  mutual 
help,  pugnacity  and  class  consciousness.  Syndicalists 
have  rejected  all  the  attempts  of  the  government  to- 
wards coalition  and  have  remained  frankly  separated 
from  the  government  and  from  politics. 

At  first,  the  "C.  G.  T."  had  no  definite  platform,  but 
a  political  event  determined  its  policy. 

In  1899,  a  socialist  representative  was  made  a  minister. 
But  when  it  became  evident  that  he  turned  socialist  op- 
position into  ministerial  solidarity,  leaders  of  labor  ob- 
served that  the  penetration  of  socialists  into  government 
did  not  change  working  conditions,  that  class  relations 
remained  the  same,  and  that  the  means  of  coercion 
(army,  police,  justice,  and  administration)  operated 
just  as  they  did  before.  So  labor  inferred  that  it  had 
nothing  to  expect  from  politics  or  government  and  that 
it  had  to  depend  upon  itself  alone.  That  is  why  the 
"C.  G.  T."  has  broken  definitely  all  connections  with  de- 
mocracy and  created  a  new  revolutionary  movement 
called  syndicalism. 

//.  Characteristics  of  Syndicalism. — Syndicalism  is 
not  mutualist,  socialist,  or  anarchist;  it  is  a  separate 
movement.  It  is  the  most  daring  manifestation  of  the 
power  of  the  laboring  class  and  brings  to  the  world  a 


SOCIALISM  73 

new  situation.  It  is  not  founded  upon  any  preconceived 
plan  or  formula ;  with  the  sole  view  of  liberating  labor,  it 
takes  daily  advantage  of  experience  and  adapts  action 
to  the  circumstances.  It  is  characterized  by  constant 
adaptation  of  its  action  to  actual  needs;  it  develops  its 
life  by  living.  It  is  not  bound  by  any  theory.  It  is  exclu- 
sively experimental.  Its  philosophy  is  a  philosophy  of 
action.  Time,  circumstances,  experience  and  the  indus- 
try of  the  men  will  show  what  to  do  and  how  to  arrange 
for  the  best.  The  right  institutions  will  spring  up  under 
the  pressure  of  circumstances  and  needs. 

The  aims  of  syndicalism  are  defined  by  the  statute  of 
the  General  Confederation  of  Labor  as  follows: 

Article  I.  Syndicalism  associates  the  wage-earners  for 
the  defense  of  their  moral,  material,  and  economic  interests. 

Article  2.  It  associates  independently  of  all  political 
parties  all  laborers  who  are  conscious  of  the  fight  to  be 
carried  on  for  the  destruction  of  the  wage  system  and  of 
the  employment  system  as  well. 

It  aims  also  at  the  suppression  of  the  employer;  and, 
in  place  of  the  present  regime  of  constraint,  at  one  of 
liberty.  To-day,  capital  pays  labor,  but  in  the  new  order, 
capital  will  work  in  the  service  of  labor  and  thence  will 
receive  its  reward. 

Syndicalists  know  that  unity  of  action  is  indispensable, 
but  think  that  instead  of  being  dictated  by  a  master,  it 
must  spring  from  spontaneous  cooperation  of  workers. 
Therefore,  they  are  bound  to  transform  the  capitalistic 
workshop  into  the  socialistic,  masterless  workshop.  At 
present,  syndicalism  groups  laborers  into  their  natural  as- 
sociations. It  attempts  their  moral  education,  develops 
their  class  consciousness  and  teaches  them  how  to  use 
their  power  for  the  class  struggle.  Meanwhile,  laborers 


74  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

are  to  weaken  progressively  the  authority  of  the  employer 
and  compel  him  to  improve  his  workshop.  They  watch 
the  fruit,  help  it  mature,  and  will  pick  it  when  the  time 
comes.  They  recognize  the  imperative  necessity  of  im- 
proving production,  because  it  is  later  to  pass  into  their 
hands. 

The  traditional  state  is  a  tyrannical  instrument  for  op- 
pression of  labor,  and  since  it  represents  the  non-produc- 
tive part  of  society  and  defends  the  capitalistic  employer, 
it  must  disappear.  There  is  no  use  trying  to  improve  it. 

Revolutionary  syndicalism  is  better  understood  from 
its  policies  and  tactics,  which  are  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  Recourse  to  Energetic  Minorities.    The  "C.  G.  T." 
flatly  repudiates  the  majority,  formed  chiefly  of  human 
sheep  not  yet  animated  by  the  spirit  of  revolt.     Syndi- 
calist action  is  the  expression  of  the  consciousness  of  a 
minority  of  revolted  militants,  which  arrogates  to  itself 
the  right  to  lead  and  awaken  the  mass  of  neutral  follow- 
ers. Here  numbers  and  votes  do  not  make  law ;  the  power 
of  will  creates  a  new  law — the  law  of  labor.  The  strength 
of  the  "C.  G.  T."  lies  less  in  the  number  of  its  members 
than  in  the  activity,  energy,  discipline,  audacity,  faith  in 
success,  enthusiastic  conviction,  and  unquestionable  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  of  the  leaders.    They  constitute  an  elite 
ready  for  every  violence  and  for  every  sacrifice.    They  go 
ahead,  regardless  of  the  reluctance  of  their  followers. 

2.  Direct  Action.    Syndicalists  wish  to  settle  their  own 
affairs  through  their  own  efforts  and  not  through  repre- 
sentatives.    There  must  be  merciless  and  ceaseless  war 
between  capital  and  labor;  and,  instead  of  smoothing 
friction,  labor  must  stimulate  the  conflict.    Constantly 
fight;  maintain  the  spirit  of  revolt  already  awakened 
among  the  working  people;  never  be  satisfied,  are  their 


SOCIALISM  75 

mottoes.  The  duty  of  workers  is  to  shake  off  their  yoke 
by  daily  effort  and  repeated  blows,  in  order  to  hasten 
the  fall  of  the  capitalist. 

3.  Class  Struggle.  The  social  tragedy  is  played  by  the 
proletariat,  whose  liberation  is  incompatible  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  capitalism,  of  ownership  and  of  the  state.  The 
present  crisis  can  be  terminated  only  through  merciless 
struggle,  prolonged  until  the  political,  economic,  judicial, 
and  moral  ideals  of  the  proletariat  prevail.  The  "C.  G.  T." 
is  essentially  an  organization  for  class  struggle,  but  in- 
stead of  advocating  progressive  penetration  into  political 
power,  it  arrays  the  working  people  against  all  our  social 
institutions.  The  weapons  used  by  the  syndicalists  against 
employers  are  strike,  boycott,  label  and  sabotage.  Against 
the  state,  they  contemplate  the  general  strike. 

Syndicalism  does  not  pretend  to  transform  society  in 
one  day  by  a  masterful  stroke.  On  the  contrary,  it  is 
going  to  conquer  capitalism  and  the  state  by  a  slow,  pro- 
gressive method,  prudently  mixing  revolutionary  action 
with  daily  labor.  Its  blows  are  the  more  effective  because 
they  are  incessantly  repeated. 

What  will  come  of  this  radical  conception  no  one 
knows.  The  point  is  that  the  syndicalist  movement  had 
its  origin  in  successive  deceptions  by  an  ostensibly  demo- 
cratic regime.  When  laborers  were  convinced  of  the  de- 
ceptive nature  of  political  power,  they  associated  in  order 
to  oppose  to  the  force  of  capitalism  another  greater  force 
and  subdue  it  victoriously.  As  one  syndicalist  said: 

The  abuses  of  the  capitalists  have  done  more  for  the 
advancement  of  the  syndicalist  movement  than  all  the  com- 
bined efforts  of  its  leaders ;  capitalism  has  prepared  its  own 
burial.4 

*Garriguet,  L'Evolution  Actuelle  du  Syndicalism  Francois. 


76  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Under  the  momentous  circumstances  of  the  war,  the 
French  soul  reawakened  at  the  vision  of  the  catastrophe 
to  which  the  nation  was  tending.  A  unity  was  reformed 
for  the  pursuit  of  a  common  purpose — liberation  from 
Prussianism.  It  is  hoped  that  the  errors  of  the  past  will 
serve  as  a  lesson  for  the  future. 

///.  American  Syndicalism.6 — Out  of  the  disillusion 
caused  by  the  failure  of  the  unions  and  the  socialistic 
party  to  bring  about  a  true  democracy,  syndicalism  has 
developed  in  America  too.  Its  organization,  known  as 
"The  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World"  ("I.  W.  W."), 
has  been  initiated  by  Americans,  quite  independent  from 
French  syndicalists.  Nevertheless,  they  hold  the  same 
program — unwillingness  to  compromise  with  employers 
and  to  participate  in  government,  direct  action  through 
sabotage,  local  and  general  strikes  and  spontaneous  or- 
ganization of  an  industrial  democracy  in  which  labor  will 
dictate  to  the  rest  of  society. 

During  the  war,  laborers  were  courted  as  never  be- 
fore. Day  after  day  they  were  told  that  this  war  was 
fought  for  democracy  and  that  when  it  was  over  every- 
thing would  be  better.  The  War  Labor  Board  established 
the  most  advanced  rights  of  labor.  President  Wilson 
said:  "There  must  be  a  genuine  democratization  of  in- 
dustry." And  thus  we  gained  the  cooperation  of  labor  in 
war.  When  these  simple  men  felt  that  they  were  working 
for  a  great  common  cause,  they  believed  that  cooperation 
was  established  forever.  But  when  the  war  stopped, 
virtually  nothing  was  changed  and  their  illusion  vanished. 
Since  syndicalism  recruits  its  members  among  those  who 
had  believed  that  a  better  order  was  at  hand  and  have 
experienced  the  vanity  of  compromise  and  cooperation, 
8  J.  G.  Brooks,  American  Syndicalism. 


SOCIALISM  77 

these  men,  disillusioned  in  their  hope  for  industrial  de- 
mocracy, naturally  increased  our  present  syndicalist  ac- 
tivity. 

IV.  Bolshevism. — Bolshevism  is  Russian  communism. 
Contrary  to  syndicalists,  bolsheviki  have  a  definite  pro- 
gram of  government.  Trade  unions  elect  "soviets"  or 
vocational  councils  which  are  local  administrative  bodies. 
These  in  turn  elect  their  representatives  to  district  coun- 
cils and  these  send  delegates  to  a  national  council.  Since 
union  men  alone  are  voters,  the  system  is,  in  fact,  a 
laboring-class  dictatorship.  In  Russia,  the  unions  have 
disfranchised  the  owners  of  factories  and  operate  both 
industry  and  government.  They  have  confiscated  capital 
and  aim  at  the  suppression  of  exploiters  and  parasites  by 
forcing  everybody  to  earn  his  own  living  in  taking  active 
part  in  production  or  distribution.  Bolsheviki  are  re- 
cruited chiefly  among  city  factory  workers ;  and  although 
this  group  includes  only  one-sixth  of  the  population  of 
Russia,  they  hold  up  almost  the  whole  country.  They 
show  how  an  organized,  energetic  minority  can  sub- 
jugate an  unorganized  majority.  They  show  also  that 
the  reaction  against  despotism  is  another  despotism,  at 
least  as  intolerant  and  oppressive  as  Czarism  was.  They 
merely  invert  the  order  of  oppression. 

All  radical  movements  are  based  on  naive  conceptions 
of  human  nature,  such  as  equality  of  men  in  needs  and 
ability,  willingness  to  work  without  incentive,  spontane- 
ous respect  for  law  and  order  which  makes  government 
coercion  unnecessary,  self-government  of  the  masses 
without  leadership,  and  so  on.  Moreover,  they  are  stimu- 
lated by  two  misleading  ideas:  first,  that  labor  is  the 
sole  producer  of  wealth ;  and,  second,  that  the  real  func- 
tion of  government  is  to  protect  capitalism  alone.  But 


78  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  fundamental  cause  of  radicalism  is  not  the  fancy  of 
a  dreamer,  it  is  personal  abuses  and  social  injustice.  Suf- 
fering and  resentment  for  actual  wrong  are  the  primary 
stimuli  of  change  in  social  order. 

Present  antiradical  propaganda,  by  emphasizing  the 
importance  of  the  radical  movements  and  bringing  them 
constantly  to  the  attention  of  the  people,  really  stimulates 
curiosity  and  propagates  radicalism.  The  less  workpeople 
hear  about  radicalism  the  better.  Hon.  William  B. 
Wilson,  Secretary  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Labor,  summed  up  the  cause  of  radicalism  and  the 
remedy  in  these  few  words : 6  "Unconnected  evils  are 
the  greatest  provocative  to  extremist  propaganda  and  their 
correction  would  in  itself  be  the  most  effective  counter 
propaganda." 

'Industrial  Management  for  April,  1918. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

STATE  SOCIALISM 

26.  Origin  of  State  Socialism. — Professor  E.  S. 
Meade  in  discussing  the  function  of  the  government 
has  the  following  to  say : l 

The  functions  of  the  government  are  twofold:  first,  to 
secure  to  each  individual  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  privileges 
consistent  with  the  enjoyment  of  similar  privileges  by 
others;  and,  second,  to  further  the  welfare  of  its  citizens. 

The  first  heading  includes  the  negative  functions  of 
the  government;  protection  of  the  citizens  against  in- 
jury and  injustice  from  their  fellow  citizens;  the  second 
includes  the  positive  or  economic  functions  of  the  gov- 
ernment. By  government  we  mean  any  municipal,  state, 
or  central  government.  These  industrial  functions  of 
the  government,  which  have  developed  during  this  half 
century,  have  been  termed  state  socialism,  though  they 
have  no  connection  with  the  socialistic  movement.  Gov- 
ernment enterprises  have  been  conducted  on  the  same 
general  principles  as  private  business. 

Before  railroads  came,  the  industrial  functions  of 
government  were  restricted.  During  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, the  number  and  importance  of  public  services  or 
utilities  grew  constantly.  However,  governments  were 
unable  to  undertake  at  once  such  new  functions,  because 

1  E.  S.  Meade,  Economics. 

79 


So 

these  public  utilities  were  experimental,  involved  great 
risk  and  demanded  a  great  deal  of  initiative.  Conse- 
quently, the  early  development  of  modern  public  utilities 
was  generally  conceded  to  individuals  or  corporations. 
Because  of  the  franchises  granted,  some  limitations  were 
generally  imposed  upon  the  rights  of  these  enterprises. 
It  was  long  before  they  paid ;  yet  after  a  certain  period 
of  trials  and  errors,  their  success,  as  a  rule,  surpassed 
expectation.  Then  the  public  felt  exploited  and  de- 
manded government  regulation,  which  has  since  con- 
stantly increased.  As  business  developed,  the  evils  of 
monopoly  appeared  and  it  became  more  and  more  diffi- 
cult to  reconcile  private  and  public  interests.  Meanwhile, 
the  prosperity  of  nations  enabled  their  governments  to 
borrow  great  sums  of  capital.  Therefore,  the  govern- 
ment was  able  to  assume  control  of  public  utilities.  As 
business  grew  steadier  and  safer,  the  services,  methods, 
and  equipments  became  standardized  and  the  original 
risk  of  operation  became  almost  eliminated.  Then  the 
view  spread  that  public  utilities  should  be  publicly  owned 
and  operated. 

27.  Development  of  State  Socialism. — Abroad, 
state  socialism  has  been  developed  on  a  very  large  scale. 
Walling  and  Laidler  declared:2 

The  collectivist  tendency  has  been  notable  not  only  in 
Germany  but  in  every  country  of  the  world  for  fully  half  a 
century.  The  careful  study  of  the  probable  development  of 
collectivism  in  Great  Britain  and  other  countries  made  by 
the  Fabian  Research  Bureau,  leads  to  the  conclusion  that, 
even  without  the  stimulus  of  the  war,  collectivism  may  be 
expected  within  a  generation  to  absorb  the  majority  of  the 
populations  of  the  world. 

'W.  E.  Walling  and  H.  W.  Laidler,  State  Socialism. 


STATE  SOCIALISM  81 

Though  this  seems  exaggerated,  they  maintained  fur- 
ther: 

"The  bulk  of  reasonable  men  in  the  empire,"  says  the 
Times  expert  whom  Lord  Milner  blesses,  "have  come 
over  to  the  primary  socialist  assertion  that  food  production, 
transport,  all  the  big  industrialism  are  matters  not  for  the 
profit-seeking  of  private  ownership  but  for  public  adminis- 
tration." 

The  results  of  these  public  industrial  enterprises  have 
differed  according  to  the  manner  in  which  the  people  ex- 
ercised their  control  over  administration.  From  this  point 
of  view  two  classes  of  state  socialism  may  be  considered : 
first,  the  German  system  which  was  thoroughly  success- 
ful under  the  most  autocratic  control,  for  the  profits  of 
its  various  activities  covered  nearly  half  the  government 
expenditures;  second,  the  systems,  which  were  installed 
in  democratic  countries,  frequently  left  much  to  be  de- 
sired, both  in  service  and  profits. 

The  success  of  the  German  government  in  state  so- 
cialism and  the  relative  failure  of  the  democratic  coun- 
tries show  how  closely  collectivism  is  allied  with  autoc- 
racy. When  long  established  traditions  and  political  in- 
fluences work  against  efficiency  in  public  service,  a  mas- 
ter's hand  is  needed.  When  the  German  government  re- 
organized its  railroads,  it  discharged  and  pensioned  a 
great  part  of  its  officials,  raised  considerably  the  salaries 
of  those  remaining  and  defined  their  responsibilities.  Effi- 
ciency, improvement  and  economy  resulted.  But  how 
can  a  democracy  do  these  things? 

28.  Deficiency  of  State  Socialism. — Inefficiency  in 
government  management  is  well  known;  volumes  have 
been  written  from  experience  to  demonstrate  it.8  The 

'Yves  Guyot,  Winer e  and  Why  Public  Ownership  Has  Failed. 


82  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

main  causes  may  be  summed  up  as  follows.  The  high 
executives  are  tied  up  to  the  unbusinesslike  procedure  of 
legislature.  Officials  have  no  discretionary  power  what- 
ever; they  have  only  to  carry  out  the  letter  of  their  in- 
structions. By  so  doing,  they  avoid  responsibility  and 
dodging  responsibility  becomes  their  chief  care.  Divested 
of  power  and  free  from  responsibility,  they  have  no  in- 
terest in  the  work,  no  ideals,  and  no  motive  to  work. 
Moreover,  they  often  feel  that  the  state  exists  to  support 
the  administration  and  they  become  unaware  of  duty  to 
be  performed.  Moreover,  their  authority  over  subordi- 
nates is  often  a  mere  illusion.  The  working  men,  on  the 
other  hand,  are  very  inefficient,  because  they  lack  leader- 
ship, ideals,  stimulus,  and  loyalty.  In  France,  before  the 
war,  discipline  had  almost  disappeared.  Workmen  felt 
that  the  state  existed  to  be  milked  and  had  no  motive  to 
work. 

Unfortunately,  it  cannot  be  otherwise  when  control  of 
enterprises  is  in  the  hands  of  politicians  who  live  on  the 
votes  of  the  very  people  whom  they  have  to  direct  and 
govern.  Favoritism,  nepotism,  distribution  of  sinecures, 
slack  discipline,  and  corruption  prevail,  because  the  object 
of  these  politicians  is  at  any  cost  to  get  and  retain  the 
votes  of  the  largest  possible  number  of  employees  and 
of  their  friends  and  relatives.  Thus,  as  Yves  Guyot  de- 
clared, "governments  themselves  persist  in  destroying  all 
spirit  of  discipline  among  their  own  employees." 

In  order  to  correct  inefficiency  in  government  man- 
agement, caused  by  its  dependence  upon  legislatures,  a 
series  of  reforms  has  been  proposed,  the  essence  of  which 
is  the  constitution  of  an  administrative  body  accountable 
to  the  legislature  and  to  the  personnel,  but  effectively  pro- 
tected against  unreasonable  demands  from  any  group  of 


STATE  SOCIALISM  83 

employees,  politicians,  or  consumers.  Such  emancipation 
should  be  supplemented  by  an  autonomous  financial  sys- 
tem and  industrial  accountancy. 

As  to  employees,  English  authorities  cited  by  Yves 
Guyot,  who  supports  their  opinion,  think  that  "the  sup- 
pression of  the  political  and  electoral  rights  of  all  em- 
ployees of  state  and  municipalities  is  an  indispensable 
consequence  of  the  development  of  public  operation." 
But  will  they  surrender  their  right  to  elect  their  su- 
periors who  are  now  obliged  to  keep  them  in  easy  berths  ? 
It  is  expected  that  the  discretion  and  responsibility  given 
the  executive  head  will  build  up  his  authority  and  enable 
him  to  animate  the  soulless  body  of  his  personnel  with 
the  right  spirit  of  service.  Primarily,  the  attitude  of  the 
personnel  toward  the  state  must  be  radically  changed 
from  top  to  bottom;  and,  particularly  in  the  old  coun- 
tries, this  is  probably  the  biggest  task,  for  as  Yves  Guyot 
says: 

The  Government  ought  to  prove  itself  a  model  for  all  the 
employers,  they  say.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this  concep- 
tion of  the  model  state  is  one  of  robbery  of  the  whole  body 
of  taxpayers  for  the  sake  of  the  minority  which  will  profit 
by  it. 

Under  government  operation,  conditions  of  work  have 
been  improved,  wages  in  many  instances  have  been 
slightly  increased  and  standardized,  and  pensions  have 
been  provided.  Still  oftener,  hours  of  work  have  been 
shortened  and  tenure  of  employ  made  more  secure,  al- 
though production  has  been  heavily  reduced. 

29.  Conclusion. — In  spite  of  its  inherent  faults, 
government  operation  of  public  utilities  was  everywhere 
considerably  extended  during  the  war  and  in  many  cases 


84  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

will  remain  after  it,  though,  to  take  care  of  its  encroach- 
ments, readjustment  is  certain. 

Whether  state  socialism  is  desirable  or  not,  as  regards 
at  least  the  great  public  utilities,  it  is  bound  to  spread, 
because  in  the  face  of  many  authorities,  it  is  generally 
supported  by  public  opinion.  Therefore,  the  actual  prob- 
lem is  not  so  much  how  to  oppose  it,  but  how  to  improve 
the  system  and  define  its  limitations. 

Experience  with  state  socialism,  repeated  in  different 
countries  and  in  different  industries,  shows  that  good  pay, 
security  of  employment,  good  conditions,  humane  treat- 
ment, short  hours,  light  tasks,  etc.,  are  powerless  to  mo- 
tivate a  human  organization  which  lacks  leadership  and 
ideals  and  which  is  deadened  by  conflicting  interests  and 
bad  traditions.  This  is  to  be  contrasted  with  the  extreme 
efficiency  of  the  cooperative  societies,  as  we  shall  see  in 
the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  COOPERATIVE  MOVEMENT 

30.  Origin  of  the  Cooperative  Movement. — The 

early  industrial  era  was  characterized  by  helpless  poverty. 
Out  of  this  misery,  out  of  the  abuses  by  middlemen  and 
speculators,  and  out  of  the  lack  of  correlation  between 
supply  and  demand  arose  the  modern  problem  of  how  to 
promote  efficiency  in  distribution  in  order  to  increase  the 
purchasing  power  of  money.  The  inevitable  law  of  ac- 
tion and  reaction  engendered  and  then  developed  the  co- 
operative movement  as  a  corrective  of  these  evils.  It  is 
now  working  silently,  but  surely,  a  veritable  revolution 
in  methods  of  distribution. 

In  1844,  at  Rochdale,  England,  twenty-eight  weavers 
formed  the  first  cooperative  society  upon  principles  which 
have  been  followed  since  and  have  brought  success. 
Moved  by  the  intense  misery  which  accompanied  at  that 
time  the  industrial  evolution,  they  proposed  buying  in 
common  the  necessaries  of  life,  and,  by  so  doing,  saving 
the  profit  of  the  retailer. 

Cooperative  societies,  or  cooperatives,  aim  at  the  imme- 
diate amelioration  of  the  lives  of  working  people  and 
peasants  through  associations  whose  purpose  is  efficiency 
in  distribution  and  elimination  of  wasteful  competition, 
by  suppression  of  middleman,  wholesaler,  retailer,  bank- 
er, employer,  and  proprietor.  Their  objects  have  been 
the  following: 


86  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

1.  Buying,  selling  or  working  in  common  for  mutual 
advantage. 

2.  Acquiring  a  collective  control  over  the  necessaries 
of  life, 

3.  Improving  the  conditions  of  laborers  as  producers. 

31.  Characteristics  of  the  Cooperative  Movement. 
— A  cooperative  is  a  corporation  whose  membership  and 
contributions  are  variable  and  whose  shares  are  untrans- 
ferable.    Its  essential  characteristic  is  that  there  is  no 
dividend,  but  only  a  moderate,  fixed  interest  attached  to 
these  shares.     From  these  two  facts,  unlimited  number 
of  shares  and  limited  return,  it  follows  that  whatever 
may  be  the  profit,  the  price  of  shares  never  rises.     In 
contrast  with  corporate  usage,  profit  is  not  proportionate 
to  shareholding  but  to  purchase.    Since  the  cooperator  is 
at  the  same  time  a  shareholder  in  his  society  and  a  cus- 
tomer of  it,  he  shares  in  the  profit  in  proportion  to  his 
purchases  and  has  with  other  purchasers  equal  rights  of 
control.     Cooperatives,   from  top  to  bottom,  are  con- 
trolled by  the  whole  body  of  purchasing  members.    The 
shares  of  cooperatives  are  generally  set  at  about  $5.00 
each.    It  is  sufficient  to  pay  one-tenth  down  in  order  to 
become  a  member. 

32.  Classes    of    Cooperatives, — There    are    four 
classes  of  cooperatives: 

1.  Retail  stores,  or  cooperatives  of  consumers ; 

2.  Wholesale  stores,  or  cooperatives  of  retailers; 

3.  Federation,  or  cooperative  of  wholesalers ; 

4.  Cooperatives  of  producers. 

The  first  class,  cooperatives  of  consumers,  has  devel- 
oped two  types  of  societies  distinguished  as  to  their  pur- 
poses: 

i.  Cooperatives  of  consumption  are  local  societies  of 


THE  COOPERATIVE  MOVEMENT  87 

consumers  which  operate  retail  stores.  They  are  the 
more  numerous  and  admit  everybody  as  a  member. 

2.  Financial  cooperatives,  such  as :  (a)  rural  credit  as- 
sociations; (&)  popular  banks;  (c)  mutual  insurance  as- 
sociations (fire,  hail,  cattle,  etc.)-  There  are  also  local 
societies  whose  purpose  is  financial  help  to  their  members 
wrho  are  small  farmers,  mechanics  or  traders. 

The  second  class,  cooperatives  of  retailers,  which  op- 
erate wholesale  stores,  are  formed  like  retail  societies, 
which  are  their  members.  They  are  cooperatives  of  co- 
operatives. Their  purpose  is  the  distribution  of  goods 
among  their  members,  the  retailers. 

The  third  class,  the  federation  or  cooperative  of  whole- 
salers, is  a  cooperative  of  the  third  degree,  since  its  mem- 
bers are  wholesale  societies.  It  secures  to  the  wholesale 
stores  the  advantages  of  centralization  of  buying  on  a 
large  scale  while  it  retains  for  each  of  these  stores  its 
independence.  These  federated  cooperatives  are  now 
engaged  in  all  sorts  of  commercial,  financial,  and  indus- 
trial activities,  not  only  in  buying  and  selling,  but  also  in 
banking,  insurance,  steamship  lines,  and  manufacturing. 
Many  of  them  conduct  every  operation  between  the  im- 
portation of  raw  material  from  overseas  to  the  finished 
product  for  the  ultimate  consumer;  in  short,  they  con- 
duct all  the  activities  which  can  make  or  save  money  for 
their  associates.  In  Europe,  in  1912,  the  number  of  co- 
operatives of  all  classes  amounted  to  12,000,  associating 
about  seven  million  members.  Their  invested  capital 
amounted  to  about  $200,000,000  and  their  volume  of 
business  reached  annually  $700,000,000,  about  half  of 
which  consisted  of  transactions  with  the  wholesale  co- 
operative stores.1 

1  P.  Brizon  et  E.  Poisson,  La  Cooperation. 


88  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

The  fourth  class,  cooperatives  of  producers,  groups 
producers  as  in:  (a)  rural  buying  syndicates;  (6)  rural 
selling  syndicates;  (r)  manufacturing  cooperatives  of 
workers. 

The  manufacturing  cooperatives,  conducted  independ- 
ently from  those  of  distribution,  have  failed  because  they 
are  often  founded  with  insufficient  capital.  They  cannot 
develop  their  market  and  are  managed  either  by  men 
who  are  incapable  or  who  have  their  authority  constantly 
questioned  by  their  associates.  Few  working  men  possess 
sufficient  cooperative  sense  and  knowledge  of  economics 
to  control  even  indirectly  such  a  complicated  organiza- 
tion. They  lack  foresight,  calculation,  and  patience. 
Such  cooperative  societies  have  to  face  the  hostility  of 
the  bourgeoisie  as  well  as  that  of  the  capitalist  manu- 
facturers and  middlemen.  Moreover,  these  societies 
have  to  reckon  with  the  constant  trend  toward  improve- 
ment in  the  equipment  of  capitalistic  competitors,  which 
their  limited  means  cannot  afford  to  install.  For  these 
reasons,  no  one  wants  to  risk  much  capital  in  cooperatives 
of  production. 

The  conditions  are  more  favorable,  however,  when 
manufacturing  is  carried  on  by  a  cooperative  of  whole- 
salers ;  that  is,  by  a  cooperative  of  the  third  class.  Then 
output  and  prices  are  determined  by  contract,  and  the 
risk  is  at  a  minimum.  Friction  between  manager  and 
personnel  is  also  reduced  through  centralization  of  con- 
trol. Nevertheless,  even  under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, production  by  cooperatives  is  restricted  to 
certain  staples,  because  industrial  risks,  which  may  spell 
ruin,  are  too  severe  for  poor  people. 

33.  Influence  of  Cooperatives. — Production  fluc- 
tuates when  there  is  no  system  to  ascertain  demand.  Spec- 


THE  COOPERATIVE  MOVEMENT  89 

ulation  ensues,  supply  and  prices  are  disturbed  and  then 
labor  becomes  demoralized. 

The  object  of  the  federation  of  cooperatives  is  the 
steadying  of  industry  by  producing  only  to  an  ascertained 
demand  in  kind,  quality,  and  quantity.  Distributive  and 
productive  agents  keep  in  contact  through  regular  meet- 
ings of  managers  of  retail  and  wholesale  societies,  so  that 
cooperation  is  characterized  by  a  proper  balance  of  supply 
and  demand.  Such  central  control  of  supply,  springing 
from  the  ultimate  consumers,  is  the  most  perfect  regu- 
lator of  prices,  because  it  is  not  arbitrary;  it  is  the  free, 
natural  play  of  the  economic  forces  which  control  prices 
and  wages.  There  are  neither  artificial  booms  nor  famine 
wages  in  producing  cooperatives;  consequently  there  is 
more  justice  and  less  disorder. 

The  weakness  of  the  old  competition  is  secrecy  among 
producers,  because  it  aims  to  gain  by  speculation.  The 
strength  of  the  new  form  of  distribution  is  knowledge 
gained  through  cooperation.  The  certainty  of  success  in 
transactions  results  in  safer  merchandising  methods, 
which  replace  by  a  moderate  but  regular  profit  the  pos- 
sibility of  exceptionally  large  gain  or  loss. 

It  is  claimed  that  labor  conditions  in  the  cooperative 
shop  are  greatly  superior  to  those  in  the  private  shop.  As 
a  rule,  the  eight-hour  day  is  observed  in  the  factories, 
trade-union  conditions  are  also  invariably  observed ;  and, 
in  many  shops,  trade  unionists  only  are  employed.  The 
two  movements,  cooperatives  and  unions,  are  generally 
run  by  the  same  people.  There  is,  moreover,  a  tendency 
to  fix  wages  according  to  an  ascertainment  of  standard 
needs.2 

'See  G.  N.  Barnes,  "Cooperation  in  Relation  to  the  Industrial 
System,"  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Philosophic  Society  of  Glasgow, 


90  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Let  us  note,  in  passing,  that  the  cooperative  movement 
has  worked  wonders  in  educating  union  men  and  social- 
ists in  the  science  of  economics  and  management  and  in 
showing  them  by  object  lessons  that  most  evils,  which 
they  attribute  to  the  ill  will  of  the  individual  employer, 
are,  in  fact,  inherent  in  business. 

34.  Causes  of  Success. — The  success  of  the  co- 
operative movement  is  due  primarily  to  the  altruistic 
spirit  of  cooperation  which  permeates  it  and  to  the  en- 
thusiastic interest  and  devotion  which  its  leaders  have 
shown  in  the  development  of  "their  shops" ;  for  these 
shops  represent  to  them  not  merely  business,  but  the 
great  cause  of  the  laboring  class  itself.  No  effort  or  sac- 
rifice looks  too  great  for  the  attainment  of  their  ideal, 
because  they  identify  themselves  with  it.  The  loyalty  01 
the  consumers  has  been  cultivated  chiefly  by  self-interest. 
The  extension  of  the  cooperative  movement  was  in- 
evitable because  it  was  motivated  by  an  apostolic  love  for 
the  working  class  and  by  an  altruism  which  springs  from 
the  cosmic  soul  of  organized  collectivities  when  they  feel 
free  from  exploitation. 

The  source  of  profit  of  the  cooperatives  is  in  three 
factors  of  prices :  costs,  general  expenses,  and  middle- 
man's profit.  Costs  are  lowered  to  the  extreme  minimum 
through  centralization  for  buying  on  a  world-wide  scale ; 
general  expenses  are  reduced  through  the  efficient  co- 
operation and  loyalty  of  all,  which  permits  the  reduction 
of  expense  of  merchandising;  and  the  profits  of  middle- 
men and  some  other  intermediaries  are  eliminated. 

In  America,  the  cooperative  movement  has  scarcely 
started ;  according  to  Professor  R.  L.  Butler,3  the  reasons 
are  that  in  this  country  wages  were  never  so  low  as  in 
'  R.  L.  Butler,  Marketing  Methods. 


THE  COOPERATIVE  MOVEMENT  91 

Europe.  Then,  the  American  people  have  not  yet  de- 
veloped class  consciousness;  individualism  prevails  and, 
therefore,  the  would-be  leaders  in  cooperation  lack  the 
indispensable  loyalty.  The  American  working  people  are 
heterogeneous  in  race  and  constantly  shifting  from  place 
to  place. 

The  object  of  this  chapter  has  been  not  merely  to  show 
one  of  the  directions  of  industrial  evolution,  but  to  set 
forth  the  intelligence,  elevation  of  ideals,  industry,  self- 
denial,  and  patience  of  which  workingmen  are  capable 
when  their  good  will  is  properly  stimulated. 


PART  II 
THE  OUTLOOK 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM 

35.  Claims  of  Labor. — We  have  seen  how  disagree- 
ment among  different  groups  brought  about  the  present 
issues  in  industry.  A  restatement  of  the  essentials  of 
this  situation  will  sum  up  the  problem  as  it  stands  now. 

The  fundamental  fact  is  that,  notwithstanding  the  pri- 
vate interests  still  involved,  industry  has  been  changed 
from  a  private  means  for  private  interests  into  a  social 
means  for  social  ends.  Our  system  of  production  and 
distribution  has  become  a  world-wide  cooperation  for 
exchange  of  services.  Much  of  the  present  unrest  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  we  have  not  fully  grasped  this  principle 
and  have  not  adapted  our  institutions  to  it. 

I.  Responsibility  of  Capital. — Before  the  capitalistic 
system,  labor  was  independent  and,  therefore,  respon- 
sible. But  since  capital  has  made  labor  completely 
dependent,  labor  places  upon  the  industrial  system 
responsibility  for  its  well-being.  That  is,  it  demands 
opportunity  for  apprenticeship,  permanency  of  employ- 
ment, standard  working  and  living  conditions,  regulation 
of  the  cost  of  living,  insurance  against  sickness,  accidents, 
and  invalidism,  pension  for  old  age,  and  various  welfare 
works  such  as  recreational,  educational,  and  health  ser- 
vices. In  short,  since  capital  has  monopolized  all  means 
of  production,  it  has  made  itself  responsible  for  the 
present  needs  as  well  as  for  the  progress  of  labor. 

95 


96  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

//.  Economic  Partnership. — Moreover,  labor  feels 
that  it  has  some  claim  upon  the  surplus  it  helps  to  create 
and  demands  the  recognition  of  its  partnership,  that  is, 
of  its  title  to  share  in  the  proceeds  of  industry. 

The  early  employer,  assuming  the  ancient  master's 
right  to  unlimited  loyalty  from  his  servant,  treated  labor 
as  a  mere  commodity.  As  industry  grew,  the  prosperity 
of  employer  and  middle  classes,  compared  with  that  of 
labor,  suggested  that  unjust  profiteering  existed  in  the 
distribution  of  wealth.  Then  the  proletariat,  awakening 
to  class  consciousness,  realized  it  was  being  exploited; 
and  as  money  was  the  symbol  of  wealth,  it  seemed  logical 
to  start  a  movement  to  increase  wages  at  the  expense  of 
profits.  At  present,  labor  sees  in  production,  distribu- 
tion, and  consumption  a  supreme  human  interest  over- 
shadowing the  personal  interests  of  capitalists. 

///.  Partnership  in  Management. — The  feudal  idea 
which  governed  the  early  establishment  of  industry 
ignored  altogether  the  human  element  in  labor.  Auto- 
cratic organization  was  introduced  into  industry  in 
imitation  of  the  feudal,  militaristic  type  of  management 
which  was  the  only  suitable  precedent.  The  employer 
assumed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  right  to  exercise  un- 
restricted compulsion  upon  labor.  Although  the  forms 
of  compulsion  have  been  considerably  softened,  the 
principle,  though  bitterly  opposed,  still  persists. 

To-day,  the  starving  worker  of  old,  who  looked  upon 
his  master  as  a  protector,  has  disappeared.  Isolated 
laborers  have  been  united  into  organized  social  groups, 
hereafter  called  collectivities,  conscious  of  their  social 
power.  Whether  such  a  union  is  formal  or  tacit,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  a  collective  spirit  is  being  cre- 
ated and  organized,  which  embodies  the  collective 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM  97 

aspirations  of  the  group  of  labor.  This  collective  spirit 
is  a  new  force  whose  management  demands  special 
treatment.  The  collectivity  does  not  replace  the  indi- 
vidual, it  supplements  him.  It  represents  labor  as  a 
partner  to  industry  and,  in  such  a  capacity,  it  affirms  its 
will  to  be  heard  on  the  question  of  how  industry  shall  be 
conducted. 

To  sum  up  the  essential  claims  of  labor: 

1.  The  whole  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  labor 
rests  on  capital. 

2.  The  partner  relationship  of  labor  shall  be  recog- 
nized as  to:  (a)  its  share  in  the  proceeds  of  industry; 
and  (t)  its  participation  in  the  conduct  of  industry. 

36.  Claimants  to  the  Proceeds  of  Industry: 
/.  Capital. — The  functions  of  the  old  time  boss-capitalist 
have  been  separated  as  follows : 

1.  The  capitalist  bondholder  stands  in  the  background; 
his  interest,  like  wages,  is  an  element  of  cost.    The  rate 
of  interest  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  employer  or  of  labor 
to  determine. 

2.  The  stockholder  is  a  capitalist  who  is  entitled  to  a 
contingent  profit  in  consideration  for  his  risk. 

3.  The  management,  which  represents  the  entrepre- 
neur, is  the  responsible  party.     But  the  management  of 
individual  concerns  cannot  assume  the  responsibility  for 
the  general  interests  of  labor  beyond  actual  production 
because  it  does  not  represent  industry  as  a  social  organ- 
ism nor  capital  as  a  class  and  because  it  has  to  face 
competition. 

4.  In  our  system  of  social  cooperation,  industry  can 
no  longer  be  considered  as  a  segregation  of  economic 
units.     An  aggregation  of  individual  concerns  into  a 
national  organism  is  necessary  to  represent  American  in- 


98  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

dustry  and  deal  with  the  general  questions  of  labor. 
Hence  the  organization  of  the  National  Industrial  Con- 
ference Board,  in  whose  booklet  we  read : l 

The  National  Industrial  Conference  Board  is  the  response 
to  the  demand  for  cooperation  among  manufacturers.  It 
was  organized  to  unify  and  centralize  the  efforts  of  indus- 
trial associations  in  studying  and  solving  the  economic 
problems  of  industry  and  to  take  constructive  action  in 
respect  to  issues  vital  to  the  welfare  of  all. 

Founded  in  May,  1916,  the  National  Industrial  Confer- 
ence Board  is  a  federation  of  national  associations  of  manu- 
facturers in  the  principal  branches  of  American  industry. 
...  As  now  constituted  the  Conference  Board  comprises 
twenty-three  of  these  organizations,  through  which  it  may 
speak  and  act  for  many  thousands  of  representative  manu- 
facturers employing  over  seven  million  workers.  The  dele- 
gates appointed  by  the  member  associations  constitute  the 
governing  body  for  deliberation  and  executive  action;  in 
addition,  the  Conference  Board  avails  itself  of  the  knowl- 
edge, experience,  and  judgment  of  many  other  industrial 
leaders  as  counselors  and  committee  members.  .  .  . 

The  membership  of  the  Board  is  steadily  being  extended 
to  other  national  and  state  associations  of  like  character. 
It  is  expected  that  in  due  time  all  important  associations  of 
this  kind  will  be  included,  thus  making  the  Board  still  more 
the  spokesman  of  American  Industry. 

PURPOSES  OF  THE  CONFERENCE  BOARD 

The  National  Industrial  Conference  Board  is  an  organiza- 
tion in  which  American  industries  are  associated  for  the 
common  purpose  of  promoting  the  stability  and  prosperity 
of  Industrial  America.  The  objects  of  the  Board  are: 

First:  To  ascertain  pertinent  economic  facts  underlying 
and  affecting  industrial  conditions,  and  to  draw  from  them 
justified  conclusions; 

Second:    To  secure  on  this  basis  joint  deliberation  and 

'National  Industrial  Conference  Board,  New  York  City. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM  99 

joint  action  for  the  manufacturers  of  the  country  through 
their  chosen  delegates,  for  the  sound  development  of 
American  industry; 

Third:  To  promote  understanding  and  satisfactory  rela- 
tions between  employers  and  employees  as  an  essential  basis 
for  the  conduct  of  industry  and  the  welfare  of  the  nation ; 

Fourth:  To  give  the  public  an  accurate  conception  of 
the  character,  scope,  and  importance  of  industry,  its  needs 
and  its  intimate  relation  to  individual  and  national  well- 
being,  to  the  end  that  this  knowledge  may  be  reflected  in  an 
intelligent  public  opinion  and  in  wise  legislation ; 

Fifth:  To  command,  by  the  justice  of  its  contentions, 
the  force  of  its  collective  experience,  and  the  strength  of  its 
representative  character,  the  attention  of  the  Government 
when  formulating  industrial  legislation  and  policies. 

In  pursuance  of  this  program  the  National  Industrial 
Conference  Board  has  so  organized  its  activities  that  it  is 
virtually  an  agency  for  the  collection  and  dissemination  of 
pertinent  facts  and  opinions,  a  forum  for  constructive  dis- 
cussion, and  an  instrument  for  cooperative  action  on  matters 
vitally  affecting  the  industrial  development  of  the  nation. 

5.  The  individual  capitalist  claims  the  free  disposal  of 
his  property,  whereas  national  wealth  has  become  more 
and  more  a  means  for  promoting  social  welfare.  In  the 
war,  the  national  wealth  of  nations  was  pledged  for 
national  purposes.  Property  of  alien  enemies  was  con- 
fiscated without  regard  to  their  personal  rights.  These 
facts  present  a  new  limitation  upon  the  right  of 
proprietorship  of  the  individual,  and  attest  the  solidarity 
of  the  individual  with  his  nation.  As  a  consequence,  the 
class  of  capitalists,  although  as  yet  lacking  cohesion,  has 
become  partner  in  the  industrial  conflict  and  has  assumed 
new  obligations. 

//.  Labor. — Nor,  in  spite  of  his  particular  interests, 
does  the  individual  worker  represent  labor.  Unions  and 


ioo  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  Federation  of  Labor  are  supposed  to  represent  labor 
as  a  class.  Though  they  defend  its  cause  and  are  the 
only  organizations  to  deal  with,  they  represent  but  a  part 
of  the  laboring  class.  Labor  is  really  a  greater  entity 
which  should  be  entirely  organized  to  sustain,  in  a  con- 
structive way,  its  claims  against  industry  as  a  unit. 

///.  Society. — Further,  we  see  that  labor  is  not  alone 
in  creating  utilities.  Those  who  develop  the  community 
and  the  country  and  professional  men  and  artisans  whose 
efficiency  enhances  the  buying  power  of  the  dollar  are  no 
less  contributors  to  the  social  surplus.  Moreover,  the 
distributors  and  the  bankers  create  other  kinds  of  utili- 
ties. Besides,  every  other  class,  such  as  the  military, 
scientific,  judicial,  clerical,  artistic,  administrative,  and 
political,  are  no  less  indispensable.  They  see  their  inter- 
ests linked  with  those  of  production.  Consequently, 
labor  does  not  constitute  by  any  means  the  whole  of 
society  and,  in  a  real  democracy,  cannot  dictate  to  society. 
Finally,  the  interests  of  the  consumer,  who  is  becoming 
an  aggressive  partner,  may  be  at  divergence  with  those 
of  society,  particularly  in  government  operation  of  pub- 
lic utilities  and  in  protective  tariffs. 

IV.  The  Eight  Parties. — Hence  the  industrial  contest 
is  much  more  complex  than  a  mere  dispute  between  two 
single  parties,  loosely  called  labor  and  capital.  In  fact, 
the  disputants  are  eight.  They  classify  in  the  following 
categories : 

Specific  or  Personal  Groups  or  Impersonal 

Parties  Parties 

Individual  worker,  Labor  as  a  class, 

Individual  concern,  Industry  as  a  social  unit, 

Individual  capitalist,  Capitalistic  class, 

Consumer.  Society. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM  101 

37.  Object  of  Claim. — What  are  the  proceeds  of 
industry  in  which  labor  claims  a  share?    These  proceeds 
may  be  either  the  actual  profits  of  individual  concerns, 
or  wealth,  that  is,  social  surplus,  accumulated  from  the 
past.    The  first  claim  means  sharing  cash  in  distribution 
of  profits.    The  second,  the  claim  against  social  surplus, 
evidently  cannot  be  one  of  division  of  wealth;  conse- 
quently, the  mode  of  sharing  this  social  surplus  must  be 
conceived  of  in  some  other  way. 

Profiteering,  that  is  making  money  without  creating 
corresponding  utility,  is  an  abnormal  destructive  practice 
which  should  not  be  confused  with  straight  profits. 

38.  The  Title  of  the  Entrepreneur  to  Profits.— A 
new  social  order,  created  by  the  establishment  of  a  new 
business,  constitutes  an  industrial  estate,  whose  value  is 
quite  apart  from  its  physical  cost  or  actual  yield.     Its 
value  is  determined  by  its  social  service.     For  example, 
an  entrepreneur,  who  establishes  in  the  United  States  at 
his  own  expense  and  risk  a  dye-manufacturing  plant, 
creates  an  industrial  estate  whose  value  is  proportionate 
to  the  service  rendered.    This  service  consists  in  utilizing 
the  by-products  of  coal,  which  were  formerly  wasted,  in 
offering  opportunity  to  labor,  in  making  the  supply  of 
dye-stuff  independent  of  foreign  countries  and  in  increas- 
ing  national   wealth.     Such   service,    however,    is    not 
evaluated.    It  is  rewarded  only  by  the  difference  between 
the  market  price  of  imported  dye-stuff  and  the  cost  of 
producing   the   same   goods,    if   the   manufacturer   can 
realize  a  profitable  difference.     This  is  the  incentive  of 
industry. 

Such  an  industrial  estate  is  an  intangible  value  attached 
to  the  physical  property;  it  is  the  work  of  the  entre- 
preneur and  belongs  unquestionably  to  him,  just  as  the 


102  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

good  will  of  the  customers  belongs  to  the  merchant.  It 
is  like  inventions  and  the  discovery  of  mines,  the  titles 
to  which  and  benefits  of  which  are  generally  protected 
as  an  inducement  to  initiative.  In  the  same  way,  to 
develop  the  resources  of  new  countries,  exclusive  manu- 
facturing privileges  are  sometimes  granted  for  a  number 
of  years  to  the  first  concern  which  establishes  a  new 
industry.  Consequently,  as  the  founder  of  the  new  order 
of  things,  the  entrepreneur  has  a  fundamental  title  to 
profit.  And  his  title  is  independent  of  and  precedent  to 
actual  transactions,  just  as  the  title  to  the  rent  of  a  house 
is  with  the  owner,  whether  the  house  is  rented  or  not. 

All  our  civilization  is  based  on  the  principle  that  "the 
prosperity  of  a  people  increases  in  proportion  as  indi- 
viduals are  secured  in  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
what  they  produce  or  acquire."  2  The  continuance  of 
our  prosperity  requires  that  this  principle  be  maintained. 
Furthermore,  the  contributions  of  the  entrepreneur  and 
labor  to  profits  are  far  from  being  equal.  Profits  are, 
indeed,  the  product  of  a  successful  combination  of  skillful 
promotion,  foresighted  financial  policy,  judicious  buying, 
stocking,  and  selling,  adequate  business  organization, 
capable  management,  and  superiority  in  service.  Each 
of  these  elements  has  as  much  bearing  upon  the  final 
result  as  labor  has.  The  contribution  of  the  entrepreneur, 
therefore,  is  not  a  fiction;  it  is  a  reality  which  warrants 
fully  his  title  to  the  ownership  of  what  it  produces,  that 
is,  to  profit. 

The  title  of  capital  to  profits  is  its  financial  responsi- 
bility for  the  successful  carrying  out  of  the  plan  laid  by 
the  entrepreneur.     The  number  of   failures  constantly 
occurring  shows  the  reality  of  the  industrial  risk. 
"E.  S.  Meade,  Economics. 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM  103 

39.  The  Title   of  Laborer  to   Profits. — May   the 

situation  of  laborer  be  considered  as  a  partnership,  even 
in  the  broadest  sense  which  this  term  carries  in  business? 
Partnership  is  a  legal  relation  existing  between  parties 
who,  as  principals,  have  an  expressed  or  implied  agree- 
ment to  combine  their  property,  labor,  and  skill  in  carry- 
ing on  lawful  business  for  their  joint  profit  and  to  share 
their  joint  liability  for  loss. 

The  would-be  partnership  of  labor  is  necessarily  a  per- 
sonal matter  between  each  employer  and  his  individual 
employees.  But  such  association  does  not  obtain  since 
the  laborer  cannot  meet  the  first  requisite  of  partnership, 
namely,  responsibility  for  loss.  He  cannot  be  made 
liable,  not  only  because  he  is  insolvent  but  because  of  the 
many  activities  that  make  for  profit  or  loss,  such  as  pro- 
moting, financing,  accounting,  managing,  buying,  selling, 
and  producing;  his  contribution  is  restricted  to  producing 
only.  Moreover,  why  should  those  employed  in  unsuc- 
cessful concerns  be  less  fortunate  than  those  who  chance 
to  enter  into  the  service  of  the  prosperous  ones?  A  part- 
nership also  implies  a  stability  of  association  which  is 
incompatible  with  the  right  and  habit  of  the  laborer  to 
leave  at  any  time.  Consequently,  his  situation  is  not  a 
partnership  and  cannot  warrant  a  claim  to  cash  and  share 
profits. 

But,  contrary  to  the  temporary  association  of  the  in- 
dividual worker  with  his  employer,  labor  as  a  class  is  a 
permanent  associate  of  industry  as  a  social  unit.  The 
reciprocal  relationship  between  the  group  of  labor  and 
industry,  represented  by  the  group  of  employers,  is  a 
new  reality  which  needs  to  be  defined  and  understood. 
These  groups  are  not  business  partners  and  have  nothing 
to  divide.  But,  according  to  modern  conception,  indus- 


104  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

try  is  primarily  a  means  of  supporting  human  existence. 
Consequently,  the  partnership  of  labor  and  industry  is  a 
social  partnership  whose  object  is  social  progress. 

The  social  purpose  of  industry  does  not  prevent  indi- 
vidual concerns  from  making  profits.  It  is  concerned 
with  the  investment  of  social  surplus  in  social  develop- 
ments, for  which  capital,  or  accumulated  profits,  is  a 
prime  requisite.  The  legitimacy  of  profits  is  now  de- 
bated because  of  confusion  between  two  different  parties 
— individual  concerns  and  industry  as  a  social  unit. 

40.  Profit  Sharing. — Many  schemes  of  profit  shar- 
ing have  been  proposed  but  have  generally  failed  in  prac- 
tice. As  a  means  of  reward  for  cooperation,  profit 
sharing  is  essentially  defective  because  it  is  impossible 
to  determine  what  has  been  the  contribution  of  labor  in 
making  profit.  It  may  happen  that  a  company  shows  a 
profit  in  spite  of  labor  inefficiency.  In  this  case,  sharing 
would  be  a  premium  for  laziness.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of  labor,  the  company  may  show 
no  profit  or  may  even  show  loss.  Profit  sharing  is  an 
arbitrary,  paternalistic  proposition,  rationally  inde- 
fensible. It  is  based  on  a  desire  to  do  something  for 
labor  and  on  a  sentiment  of  "reasonableness."  Let  us 
remember  that,  according  to  time  and  people,  a  "reason- 
able" share  may  vary  from  naught  to  the  whole  profit. 
Nothing  is  more  inconsistent  and  dangerous  than  "rea- 
sonableness." Every  compensation  must  be  based  upon 
an  invariable  principle  and  standard  of  measurement  of 
efficiency. 

Employees  can  share  in  profits  only  by  becoming 
capitalists;  that  is,  by  buying  stock.  Many  corporations 
have  already  favored  this  practice,  and,  as  a  means  of 
creating  loyalty  and  stability  and  of  diffusing  capital, 


THE  INDUSTRIAL  PROBLEM  105 

experience  has  proved  its  soundness.  No  gratis  distri- 
bution of  stock  could  ever  have  this  effect  or  even  arouse 
appreciation.  In  principle,  every  such  concession  is  de- 
moralizing. 

41.  Sharing  in  Efficiency. — Generally  it  is  more 
desirable  to  pay  the  individual  worker  a  premium  for  his 
efficiency,  but  sometimes  it  is  better  to  build  a  community 
of  interests.    In  the  latter  case,  a  plan  for  sharing  in  the 
savings  is  often  devised  which  provides  that,  after  a 
short  period,  one-half  of  the  savings  be  added  to  wages. 
This  does  not  apply  to  new  equipment  for  the  initial 
efficiency  of  a  new  equipment,  ascertained  by  tests,  is 
often  higher  than  the  best  performance  of  current  prac- 
tice.    Since  all  plants  change,  a  minimum  standard  of 
efficiency  may  be  agreed  upon  and  arranged  so  high  that 
the  whole  savings  of  wages  above  that  minimum  can  be 
turned  over  to  labor.     The  benefit  the  employer  gets  is 
from  the  savings  in  general  expense.     Furthermore,  a 
plan  for  sharing  in  the  savings  of  any  waste  may  be 
devised.    Whatever  may  be  the  plan,  it  should  provide  a 
means  for  determining  the  share  of  labor  after  a  change 
of  equipment,  process,  or  conditions  has  taken  place. 

42.  Functions  of  Profits. — All  the  wealth  of  the 
country,  the  larger  part  of  which  is  invested  in  busi- 
ness and  in  social  institutions,  is  an  accumulation  of 
surplus.    Had  profits  been  divided  up  for  immediate  con- 
sumption, no  capital  would  ever  have  been  available  for 
industries;  and  no  development  would  have  ever  taken 
place.     Profits,  therefore,  are  not  only  legitimate;  they 
are  necessary  to  create  the  social  surplus  the  function 
of  which  is  the  maintenance  of  the  invested  capital  that 
wears  out  in  the  processes  of  industry  and  the  main- 
tenance of  social  work. 


io6  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Unless  people  enjoy  social  surplus  in  the  form  of  new 
opportunities  and  institutions,  such  as  railroads,  public 
utilities,  houses,  schools,  libraries,  theaters,  parks,  hos- 
pitals, and  every  kind  of  welfare  work,  we  miss  the  main 
purpose  of  social  cooperation.  The  economic  question 
of  preventing  a  monopoly  of  wealth  is  beyond  the  scope 
of  the  present  subject.  Nevertheless  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  relations  between  capital  and  labor  which  will  pro- 
vide labor  with  better  means  for  enjoying  social  surplus 
will  do  much  to  bring  a  happier  order. 

The  sight  of  wealth  is  very  alluring  and  apt  to  cause 
much  envy;  but,  if  we  consider  apparently  big  profits 
in  the  right  perspective,  we  see  that  industrial  profits  are 
transitory.  Competition  soon  reduces  them.  To  the 
industrial  system,  we  owe  the  development  of  the  world 
and  enjoyment  of  liberty.  This  is  perhaps  worth  the 
price.  Moreover,  changes  looking  to  more  equitable  dis- 
tribution of  wealth  are  continually  going  on  through  the 
action  and  reaction  of  economic  forces. 

To  conclude,  labor  has  no  title  to  a  cash  share  in  the 
profits  of  industry.  Consequently,  we  have  to  change 
our  conception  of  sharing. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  NEW  STATUS  OF  LABOR 

43.  Reconciliation  of  Conflicting  Tendencies. — The 

claims  of  labor  to  partnership  in  industry  cannot  be 
reconciled  with  our  individualistic,  industrial  system. 
That  is  why,  in  order  to  dispose  of  the  proceeds  of  in- 
dustry, it  has  been  found  easier  to  devise  new  systems 
of  control  of  production  than  to  attempt  to  correct  the 
present  system.  Among  these  new  systems,  state  social- 
ism and  cooperative  societies  continue  to  spread,  but 
experience  has  shown  their  limitations.  Socialism  has 
not  yet  been  tested,  and  its  application  cannot  be  contem- 
plated in  the  near  future. 

The  principle  of  private  ownership  is  not  essentially 
wrong,  and  it  is  being  applied  less  individualistically. 
Therefore,  it  may  be  unnecessary  to  displace  private  own- 
ership and  create  new  evils.  Harmonious  readjustment, 
however,  requires  changes  not  only  in  industrial  institu- 
tions but  also  in  thought.  The  trouble  is  that  neither 
our  minds  nor  our  industrial  organizations  have  been 
adjusted  to  the  new  situation  and  ideas.  Our  conceptions 
of  competition  and  monopoly  must  be  suited  to  recent 
social  changes;  then  the  natural  development  of  our 
institutions,  according  to  these  new  conceptions,  will 
eventually  harmonize  conflicting  tendencies.  But  a  new 
interpretation  of  the  claims  of  labor  is  necessary  to  ren- 
der them  acceptable. 

107 


io8  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

44.  Collective  Bargaining. — The  old  school  of  man- 
agement gained  profits  by  taking  advantage  of  the 
inability  of  the  worker  to  sell  his  service  at  its  value. 
Disregarding  labor  as  consumers,  the  employer  sought 
low  cost  through  low  wages.  But,  since  a  similar  course 
was  imposed  upon  all  manufacturing  competitors,  the 
employer  did  not  get  the  benefit  of  low  cost;  and  labor 
suffered  loss.  Scientific  management  recognizes  the  co- 
operation of  the  individual  and  proportions  the  reward  to 
his  service;  thus,  through  increased  production  by  means 
of  cooperation,  it  realizes  low  cost  though  it  increases 
earnings.  Nevertheless  the  rating  of  wages  is  still 
arbitrary.  In  order  to  get  the  adherence  of  labor  to 
scientific  management,  employers  must  deal  with  em- 
ployees as  equals,  and  make  collective  agreements  with 
employees,  particularly  concerning  basic  rates  of  wages, 
piece  rates,  and  bonuses. 

E.  F.  Henry  said  in  this  connection :  * 

The  distribution  of  wages  is  done  by  a  sort  of  auction  or 
bargaining  that  is  a  relic  of  the  old  days  of  cross-roads 
store  methods.  This  has  been  driven  out  of  almost  every 
form  of  merchandising  except  the  sale  of  services.  For 
the  sale  and  purchase  of  labor  we  should  come  out  in  the 
open  and  quote  everybody  the  same  price  for  the  same 
goods. 

The  average  man  who  applies  for  a  job  is  pretty  sure  to 
weaken  when  the  question  of  salary  is  broached.  He  is  apt 
to  wish  to  leave  it  to  the  employer,  which  puts  a  large 
temptation  in  the  latter's  way.  He  is  visibly  relieved  when 
he  finds  a  place  where  a  standard  starting  wage  is  offered 
with  advancement  every  so  often.  He  hates  to  discuss  the 
business  of  the  question  at  all.  Half  of  the  applicants  will 
accept  a  lower  starting  wage  than  they  consider  themselves 
worth.  Men  are  not  sure  of  their  own  qualifications.  They 

1  Industrial  Management,  December,  1917. 


THE  NEW  STATUS  OF  LABOR     109 

are  afraid  that  if  they  claim  all  that  they  should,  the  boss 
will  bring  out  a  job  that  they  never  saw  before  and  show 
them  up  the  first  day.  The  few  exceptions  to  this  rule 
make  so  much  stir  about  themselves  that  we  are  apt  to 
overestimate  their  number.  The  average  good  mechanic  or 
useful  clerk  needs  a  receiver  from  the  time  he  goes  to  work 
until  his  will  is  read. 

Since  individual  bargaining  can  afford  an  advantage 
for  the  stronger  party,  it  arouses  suspicion.  That  is 
why,  whether  exploitation  is  actually  practiced  or  not, 
the  worker  imagines  he  is  being  exploited.  The  protec- 
tion of  profits,  therefore,  calls  for  the  removal  of  every 
suspicion  of  unfairness  and  arbitrariness.  Profits  will 
no  longer  be  regarded  as  a  spoil  to  divide,  if  they  are 
proved  to  be  the  fair  reward  for  the  work  of  the  employer 
and  the  equivalent  of  utilities  created.  By  collective  bar- 
gaining, profits  will  be  exonerated  from  any  supposed  or 
real  taint  of  exploitation.  Individual  employers  are  not 
so  much  at  fault,  because  few  of  them  have  any  means 
of  determining  what  they  ought  to  pay;  besides,  they 
have  no  standards  of  the  qualifications  of  workers. 

Shop  collective  bargaining  removes  the  inability  of  the 
worker  to  bargain  individually,  but  this  does  not  protect 
the  employer  against  his  competitors.  Consequently, 
collective  bargaining  must  extend  beyond  the  shop  in 
order  to  make  collective  agreements  between  the  group 
of  employers  and  the  group  of  labor. 

45.  Fluctuation  of  Supply  and  Demand. — Col- 
lective bargaining  and  minimum  wages  can  correct  in 
part  the  hard  consequences  of  the  law  of  supply  and  de- 
mand, but  labor  at  large  cannot  escape  the  effect  of  this 
law.  A  minimum  earning  during  hard  times  may  be 
secured  for  those  who  chance  to  remain  employed,  but 


I  io  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

this  is  not  all.  The  problem  requires  that  the  worker 
take  advantage  of  good  market  conditions  during  times 
of  prosperity.  This  real  sharing  in  the  proceeds  of 
industry  is  not  a  participation  in  profits,  to  which  the 
worker  has  no  title,  but  in  general  prosperity.  The 
problem,  then,  is  to  assure,  during  periods  of  depression, 
a  minimum  earning  to  the  largest  number  of  workers 
and,  in  times  of  prosperity,  an  increase  in  earnings  in 
proportion  to  the  demand  for  help.  Since  fluctuation  of 
market  conditions  as  yet  is  impossible  to  prevent,  there 
will  always  be  necessity  for  periodical  readjustments. 

Collective  bargaining  through  adequate  organization  is 
a  desirable  way  to  readjust  wages  according  to  the  supply 
and  demand  of  labor;  but,  if  the  discussion  in  each  case 
must  depend  upon  actual  sentiment  and  upon  desires 
arbitrarily  formed,  there  is  a  chance  that  frequently  no 
peaceful  settlement  can  be  reached.  Consequently,  to 
avoid  disputes,  readjustment,  as  far  as  possible,  should 
be  made  automatic. 

46.  Sharing  Prosperity. — An  automatic  readjust- 
ment of  earnings  may  be  made  by  reducing  the  number 
of  hours  of  the  basic  day  paid  at  standard  rates  and  by 
increasing  the  rates  per  hour  for  overtime.  By  this 
method,  during  periods  of  depression  the  whole  working 
force  is  put  on  short  time  and  the  limited  amount  of  work 
is  equally  distributed.  In  busy  seasons  and  good  times, 
the  number  of  working  hours  increases  according  to  the 
demand  for  goods  and  workers  increase  their  earnings 
accordingly. 

Professor  J.  R.  Commons  says : 2 

Almost  every  industry,  including  agriculture,  might  be 
put  on  the  "basic  eight-hour  day"  at  once,  requiring  only  a 

*J.  R.  Commons,  Industrial  Good-Will. 


THE  NEW  STATUS  OF  LABOR     in 

little  more  care  in  time-keeping  and  supervision.  During 
the  first  eight  hours,  regular  time  is  paid  and  then  time- 
and-a-half  for  overtime.  This  is  almost  the  universal  prac- 
tice in  trade-union  agreements.  It  permits  by  prearrange- 
ment  an  increased  output  in  the  busy  season,  by  adding 
more  hours  at  higher  rates  of  pay  per  hour,  instead  of 
more  men  at  the  same  rates,  and  permits  both  a  reduction 
in  hours  and  a  reduction  in  labor-cost  when  business  falls 
off,  but  without  laying  off  men.  If  labor  turnover  is  expen- 
sive, then  the  basic  eight-hour  day  is  economical  and  profit- 
able. 

Such  a  simple  agreement  on  a  basic  six-hour  or  eight- 
hour  day,  with  time-and-a-half  or  double-time  for  over- 
time, provides  an  elastic  and  automatic  means  to  move 
all  wage-earners  together  in  the  ups  and  downs  of  busi- 
ness. Moreover,  as  Professor  J.  R.  Commons  states  :8 

It  reduces  both  hours  and  labor-cost  of  the  product  in  dull 
seasons  and  hard  times.  This  reduction  in  cost,  however, 
stops  at  the  six-hour  or  eight-hour  level.  There  is  no  suffi- 
cient reason,  if  the  eight-hour  level  does  not  furnish  enough 
elasticity,  why  the  basic  seven-hour  day  or  basic  six-hour 
day  should  not  be  adopted  in  those  industries  where  experi- 
ence shows  that  employment  in  off  seasons  or  hard  times 
gets  down  to  thirty-five  or  forty  hours  a  week. 

Then,  when  the  basic-hour  day  is  adopted  for  day  work- 
ers, it  is  but  a  matter  of  percentages  or  differentials  added 
to  the  piece-rates  for  piece-workers,  so  that  the  piece-rates 
also  shall,  by  prearrangement,  advance  when  the  hours 
increase  and  be  reduced  when  hours  are  reduced.  This 
basic-hour  day  for  day-workers  and  its  corresponding  dif- 
ferential percentages  for  piece-workers  is  a  modified  form 
of  profit  sharing,  since,  in  the  busy  season  or  prosperous 
times  when  there  is  more  work  for  the  employee  and  more 
profit  for  the  employer,  not  only  the  hours  are  increased  but 
also  the  rates  of  pay  per  hour  and  per  piece  are  increased, 
and  vice  versa. 

*J.  R.  Commons,  Ibid. 


112  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

In  continuous  operation  in  which  hours  cannot  vary, 
and  even  in  the  determination  of  the  basic  rates  of  wages 
for  a  given  period,  the  variation  of  the  rate  should  be 
proportionate  to  the  cost  of  living  as  indicated  by  the 
index  of  commodity  rates.  A  scale  for  such  automatic, 
periodic  readjustment  has  already  been  put  into  practice 
by  certain  concerns.4 

Thus  collective  bargaining,  together  with  a  cost-of- 
living  basic  rate  and  reduced  basic  day,  improves  con- 
siderably the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  industry, 
without  encroaching  upon  the  interests  of  the  entrepre- 
neur. This  is  all  right  in  so  far  as  the  immediate  inter- 
ests of  the  individual  are  concerned,  but  it  still  falls  short 
of  satisfying  labor  as  a  class.  One  class  has  the  capital; 
the  other  must  get  in  some  form  its  equivalent. 

47.  Sharing  in  Social  Surplus. — The  old  conception 
of  ownership  is  being  slightly  reformed.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  our  industrial  era,  capital  had  no  moral  and  little 
social  obligation;  its  right  of  ownership  was  nearly  abso- 
lute and  dominated  the  whole  industrial  system.  But  as 
the  purpose  of  industry  became  more  social,  the  limita- 
tions to  this  right  have  increased.  Indeed,  the  war  has 
shown  that  the  right  of  private  ownership  varies  accord- 
ing to  social  needs.  To-day,  a  new  limitation  to 
capital's  rights  is  seeking  recognition,  namely,  the  dis- 
posal of  social  surplus  accumulating  from  profits.  This 
is  not  to  be  confused  with  the  problem  of  distribution  of 
wealth  in  society. 

The  universal  habit  of  thinking  of  money  as  an  end  in 
itself  naturally  suggests  to  labor  the  idea  of  sharing  with 
capital  or  even  of  owning  capital  altogether.  This  is  a 

*  See  H.  Tipper,  "Agreement  vs.  Bargaining,"  Automotive  Indus- 
try for  November  7,  1918. 


THE  NEW  STATUS  OF  LABOR  113 

mistaken  view.  Wages  are  not  enjoyed  as  money.  Like- 
wise, social  surplus  or  accumulated  wealth  is  not  enjoyed 
by  possession.  It  must  be  invested  for  social  enjoyment 
and  social  progress. 

"Custom  and  a  sense  of  propriety  demand  of  the  indi- 
vidual that  he  subordinate  the  exercise  of  the  rights  of 
private  property  to  social  interests  and  social  require- 
ments." 5  Therefore,  the  modern  capitalist  should  recog- 
nize his  new  moral  obligation  to  invest  a  part  of  his 
surplus  for  the  enjoyment  of  those  who  have  cooperated 
to  create  it.  This  question  will  be  developed  in  Part  IV. 

48.  Welfare  Institutions  as  the  Share  of  Labor: 
/.  Industrial  Betterment. — The  early  factory  workers 
burned  their  lives  out  by  toiling  under  conditions  abso- 
lutely unsuitable  for  human  existence,  until  the  exhaus- 
tion of  entire  populations  demanded  that  attention  be 
paid  to  the  physiological  needs  of  workers.  Regulations, 
restricting  employment  of  children  and  women,  were 
made;  improvements  in  methods  of  lighting,  heating, 
sanitation,  and  safety  were  introduced;  and,  in  addition, 
rest  and  lunch-rooms,  recreation  centers,  emergency  hos- 
pitals, etc.,  were  provided.  Some  employers  even  gave 
their  employees  an  opportunity  to  live  in  model  houses 
in  ideally  pleasant  surroundings.  In  some  instances, 
schools  and  insurance  and  pension  systems  have  been 
supplied.  Better  working  conditions  and  welfare  work 
are  now  looked  upon  as  a  matter  of  course.  For  the  sake 
of  their  prompt  introduction,  it  is  gratifying  to  see  that 
good  economic  results  follow  attention  to  the  well-being 
of  workers.  This  proves  the  correlation  of  ethics  and 
economics,  as  Professor  Lee  Galloway  pointed  out : 8 

"  E.  S.  Meade,  Economics. 

*  Lee  Galloway,  Organization  and  Management. 


H4  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

By  experience  it  has  been  found  in  America  as  well  as  in 
Europe,  that  the  promotion  of  the  physical,  mental,  and 
moral  welfare  of  the  employees  is  actually  a  matter  of 
profit  to  the  employer.  If  healthy,  intelligent,  comfortable 
and  happy  workers  do  better  and  more  work  than  those 
who  are  ill-nourished,  unintelligent,  miserable  and  ill  at 
ease,  there  is  no  question  but  that  it  pays  to  have  the  for- 
mer. If  the  workman  is  regarded  and  treated  as  an  autom- 
aton, bad  work,  ill-will,  disagreements,  strikes,  and  labor 
troubles  result. 

By  means  of  welfare  work,  labor,  as  a  social  group, 
shares  in  the  proceeds  of  industry. 

//.  Social  Betterment. — The  fact  that  industry  now 
has  a  social  purpose  and  that  life  has  become  more  social, 
has  given  the  laborer  a  vision  of  broader  citizenship  and 
set  his  will  upon  self-realization  in  social  life. 

Social  welfare  of  working  populations,  although 
closely  related  to  development  of  industry,  presupposes 
administrative  activities  and  financial  operations  beyond 
the  object  of  industrial  concerns  and  beyond  the  responsi- 
bility and  competence  of  their  management.  Social 
betterment,  which  necessity  has  forced  upon  isolated  pri- 
vate concerns,  cannot  be  interpreted  as  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  social  responsibility  of  industrial  firms. 
Nevertheless,  the  capitalist  class,  by  holding  itself  as  a 
provider  of  the  means  of  the  well-being  of  the  working 
class,  has  thus  accepted  responsibility  with  regard  to 
satisfying  the  social  aspirations  of  labor.  Philanthropy 
and  charity  have  become  inadequate.  The  time  has  come 
when  guesswork  must  give  way  to  social  engineering; 
that  is,  to  scientific  development  of  social  institutions,  the 
enjoyment  of  which  is  the  main  share  of  labor  in  social 
surplus. 


CHAPTER  XII 

MEANING  OF   DEMOCRATIC    MANAGEMENT 

49.  Principles  of  Autocracy. — The  industrial  evolu- 
tion is  characterized  by  a  radical  transformation  in  the 
attitude  of  management  toward  labor;  for  the  worker, 
first  regarded  merely  as  an  economic  factor,  came  to  be 
regarded  as  an  individual,  and,  more  recently,  as  a 
cooperator. 

Paternalistic  management  had  become  sometimes  so 
sympathetic  that  those  who  were  unconsciously  autocrats 
had  reason  to  believe  that  industry  would  be  better  off 
if  they  were  left  in  undisturbed  control  of  production. 
Labor,  however,  when  not  hostile  to  paternalistic  policies, 
was  left  indifferent. 

Since  the  latest  stage  of  evolution  of  industry  consists 
in  passing  from  the  autocratic  to  democratic  methods  of 
management,  we  shall  contrast  the  principles  of  these  two 
methods.  Autocratic  management  is  more  than  an 
opinion;  it  is  a  system  and  has  principles.  We  shall  see 
how  it  derives  from  autocratic  government.  The  early 
form  of  government  was  founded  upon  these  three 
principles : 

1.  The  people  existed  for  the  sake  of  the  state  and 
military  class. 

2.  Military  excellence  conferred  such  superiority  that 
the  ruling  class  considered  the  plain  people  as  essentially 
and  hopelessly  inferior. 

115 


n6  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

3.  The  ruling  class  made  the  law  and  enforced  it  upon 
the  common  people.  So  the  autocratic  government  be- 
came a  hierarchy  in  which  every  grade  manifested 
servility  toward  its  superiors  and  coercion  toward  its 
inferiors. 

These  principles,  almost  unquestioned  in  the  beginning 
of  industry,  have  been  applied  as  a  matter  of  course  to 
its  management.  Therefore,  the  autocratic  manager  be- 
lieved: (i)  that  the  worker  exists  for  the  sake  of  in- 
dustry; (2)  that  his  lack  of  culture  makes  the  worker 
hopelessly  inferior  relatively  to  excellence  of  knowledge; 
and  consequently,  (3)  that,  for  his  own  good,  the  worker 
must  be  governed  by  authority. 

The  aim  of  all  revolutions  has  been  to  overthrow  class 
dependency.  Peoples  have  succeeded  in  part  in  getting 
rid  of  coercion.  But  this  constitutes  only  negative  lib- 
erty, since  it  is  mere  liberation  from  restrictive,  alien 
power.  Positive  liberty,  the  object  of  present  aspiration, 
consists  in  the  attainment  of  a  constructive  system  for 
the  self-determination  of  individuals,  of  groups,  and  of 
nations.  This  cannot  be  gained  by  revolution,  but  only 
by  organizing  human  forces  for  ultimately  attaining 
greater  union.  This  is  the  task  of  democracy. 

50.  Principles  of  Democracy. — The  principles  of 
democracy  are  obverse  to  those  of  autocracy;  instead  of 
benefiting  a  ruling  class,  democracy  benefits  all  people. 
These  principles  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

1.  The  state  exists  for  the  people;  likewise,  industry 
also  ought  to  have  a  social  purpose. 

2.  Every  man  may  possess  some  peculiar  excellence, 
which  ought  to  get  opportunity  to  manifest  itself. 

3.  Democracy  says  that  government  derives  its  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 


MEANING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  MANAGEMENT    117 

We  shall  see  how  these  principles  are  being  introduced 
in  industry. 

L  The  New  Meaning  of  Industry. — The  new  mean- 
ing of  industry  is  primarily  the  support  of  human  life; 
consequently,  the  common  social  interest  of  employers 
and  employed  has  become  more  important  than  the  pri- 
vate interests  of  capitalists.  In  actions  of  public-service 
corporations,  the  courts  have  held  the  duties  of  the  cor- 
porations to  the  public  to  be  superior  to  those  of  the 
corporations  to  their  stockholders.  As  to  the  new  atti- 
tude of  capital,  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  follow- 
ing from  the  address  of  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  before 
the  War  Emergency  Congress  of  the  United  States 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  Atlantic  City,  December,  1918  :* 

What  is  the  purpose  of  industry?  Shall  we  cling  to  the 
conception  of  industry  as  an  institution  primarily  of  private 
interest,  which  enables  certain  individuals  to  accumulate 
wealth,  too  often  irrespective  of  the  well-being,  the  health, 
and  the  happiness  of  those  engaged  in  its  production?  Or 
shall  we  adopt  the  modern  viewpoint  and  regard  industry 
as  being  a  form  of  social  service,  quite  as  much  as  a 
revenue-producing  process  ? 

Is  it  not  true  that  any  industry,  to  be  permanently  suc- 
cessful, must  insure  to  labor  adequately  remunerative  em- 
ployment under  proper  working  and  living  conditions,  to 
capital  a  fair  return  upon  the  money  invested,  and  to  the 
community  a  useful  service.  The  soundest  industrial 
policy  is  that  which  has  constantly  in  mind  the  welfare  of 
employees  as  well  as  the  making  of  profits,  and  which, 
when  human  consideration  demands  it,  subordinates  profits 
to  welfare.  Industrial  relations  are  essentially  human 
relations.  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  every  one  entrusted 
with  industrial  leadership  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  improve 
the  conditions  under  which  men  work  and  live. 

*J.  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  Representation  in  Industry,  Annals  of 
the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sciences,  January, 
1919. 


n8  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

The  day  has  passed  when  the  conception  of  industry  as 
chiefly  a  revenue-producing  process  can  be  maintained.  To 
cling  to  such  a  conception  is  only  to  arouse  antagonisms 
and  to  court  trouble.  In  the  light  of  the  present,  every 
thoughtful  man  must  concede  that  the  purpose  of  industry 
is  quite  as  much  the  advancement  of  social  well-being  as 
the  accumulation  of  wealth.  It  remains  none  the  less  true, 
however,  that  to  be  successful,  industry  must  not  only  serve 
the  community  and  the  workers  adequately,  but  must  also 
realize  a  just  return  on  capital  invested. 

Men  are  rapidly  coming  to  see  that  human  life  is  of 
infinitely  greater  value  than  material  wealth;  that  the 
health,  happiness,  and  well-being  of  the  individual,  how- 
ever humble,  is  not  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  selfish  aggrandize- 
ment of  the  more  fortunate  or  more  powerful.  Modern 
thought  is  placing  less  emphasis  on  material  considerations. 
It  is  recognizing  that  the  basis  of  national  progress,  whether 
industrial  or  social,  is  the  health,  efficiency,  and  spiritual 
development  of  the  people.  Never  was  there  a  more  pro- 
found belief  in  human  life  than  to-day.  Whether  men 
work  with  brain  or  brawn,  they  are  human  beings,  and  are 
much  alike  in  their  cravings,  their  aspirations,  their  hatred, 
and  their  capacity  for  suffering  and  for  enjoyment. 

As  the  leaders  of  industry  face  this  period  of  reconstruc- 
tion, what  will  be  their  attitude?  Will  it  be  that  of  the 
stand-patters,  who  ignore  the  extraordinary  changes  which 
have  come  over  the  face  of  the  civilized  world  and  have 
taken  place  in  the  minds  of  men;  who,  arming  themselves 
to  the  teeth,  attempt  stubbornly  to  resist  the  inevitable  and 
invite  open  warfare  with  the  other  parties  in  industry  .  .  .  ? 
Those  who  take  such  an  attitude  are  willfully  heedless  of 
the  fact  that  its  certain  outcome  will  be  financial  loss,  gen- 
eral inconvenience  and  suffering,  the  development  of  bitter- 
ness and  hatred,  and  in  the  end  submission  to  far  more 
drastic  and  radical  conditions  imposed  by  legislation,  if  not 
by  force,  than  could  now  be  sociably  arrived  at  through 
mutual  concession  in  a  friendly  conference. 

Or  will  their  attitude  be  one  in  which  I  myself  pro- 
foundly believe,  which  takes  cognizance  of  the  inherent 


MEANING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  MANAGEMENT    119 

right  and  justice  of  the  principles  underlying  the  new 
order ;  which  recognizes  that  mighty  changes  are  inevitable, 
many  of  them  desirable;  and  which  does  not  wait  until 
forced  to  adopt  new  methods,  but  takes  the  lead  in  calling 
together  the  parties  to  industry  for  a  round  table  confer- 
ence to  be  held  in  a  spirit  of  justice,  fair  play,  and  brother- 
hood, with  a  view  to  working  out  some  plan  of  cooperation 
which  will  insure  to  all  those  concerned  adequate  repre- 
sentation, and  afford  to  labor  an  opportunity  to  earn  a  fair 
wage  under  such  conditions  as  shall  leave  time  not  alone 
for  food  and  sleep,  but  also  for  recreation  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  higher  things  of  life? 

Never  was  there  such  an  opportunity  as  exists  to-day  for 
the  industrial  leader  with  clear  vision  and  broad  sympathy, 
permanently  to  bridge  the  chasm  that  is  daily  gaping  wider 
between  the  parties  of  industry,  and  to  establish  a  solid 
formation  for  industrial  prosperity,  social  improvement  and 
national  solidarity.  Future  generations  will  rise  up  and 
call  those  men  blessed  who  have  the  courage  of  their  con- 
victions, a  proper  appreciation  of  the  value  of  human  life 
as  contrasted  with  material  gain,  and  who,  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  brotherhood,  will  lay  hold  of  the  great  opportunity 
for  leadership  which  is  open  to  them  to-day. 

In  conclusion  let  it  be  said  that  upon  the  heads  of  these 
leaders — it  matters  not  to  which  of  the  four  parties  they 
belong — who  refuse  to  recognize  their  industrial  households 
in  the  light  of  modern  spirit,  will  rest  the  responsibility  for 
such  radical  and  drastic  measures  as  may  later  be  forced 
upon  industry  if  the  highest  interests  of  all  are  not  shortly 
considered  and  dealt  with  in  a  spirit  of  fairness.  Who, 
I  say,  dares  to  block  the  wheels  of  progress  and  to  let  pass 
the  present  opportunity  of  helping  to  usher  in  a  new  era  of 
industrial  peace  and  prosperity? 

//.  Building  Men. — Democracy,  in  its  highest  sense, 
is  not  so  much  a  management  of  things  as  an  aid  to  all 
people  to  attain  a  larger  life.  More  than  any  other 
means,  industry  can  develop  the  spiritual  nature  of  man 
by  affording  him  a  daily  chance  to  show  what  is  in  him. 


120  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

By  using  his  brain  in  his  work  and  by  forming  opinions, 
he  learns  to  decide  for  himself.  It  is  only  when  he  has 
a  choice  in  matters,  that  he  considers  himself  responsible, 
and  to  feel  responsible  is  requisite  for  self-government. 
As  Professor  J.  H.  Tufts  has  said :  2 

The  most  important  thing  is  that  every  citizen  should 
know  what  is  wise  and  best  and  should  try  to  do  it.  Some 
things  can  be  told  us  and  taught  us  by  others.  But  the 
greatest  lessons  of  life  we  learn  only  by  deciding  things  for 
ourselves.  ...  It  is  when  we  have  to  decide  for  ourselves 
that  we  really  learn  in  a  much  deeper  way.  When  I  decide 
for  myself  that  I  will  cheat,  I  am  deciding  not  only  what 
I  will  do  or  learn,  but  what  I  will  be.  If  I  decide,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  act  squarely,  I  am  making  myself  a  "square" 
man.  For  no  one  is  "ready-made."  We  are  building  our- 
selves and  the  most  important  acts  in  building  ourselves  are 
learning  and  choosing. 

When  of  our  own  accord  we  choose  a  course  of  con- 
duct with  due  respect  for  the  rights  of  others,  we  are 
free  and  responsible.  We  are  not  compelled  by  any  one, 
we  direct  ourselves  just  as  free  men  make  their  own 
laws.  This  is  one  great  idea  of  life;  and  the  second, 
Professor  J.  H.  Tufts  says,  is 

that  if  freedom  and  responsibility  are  really  just  another 
name  for  acting  conscientiously,  then  all  men  should  be 
free  and  responsible.  All  men  ought  to  have  a  chance  to 
live  a  nobler  life.  To  help  the  cause  of  freedom,  then,  is 
not  merely  to  gain  a  benefit  for  myself ;  it  is  a  part  of  the 
real  business  of  living. 

///.  Equality  of  Opportunity. — Professor  N.  L.  Sims 
has  said :  * 

Primitive  democracy  was  assumed  to  be  dead-level 
equality.  Civil  democracy  is,  in  contrast,  the  equality  of 

'J.  H.  Tufts,  Our  Democracy. 
*  N.  L.  Sims,  Ultimate  Democracy. 


MEANING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  MANAGEMENT    121 

unequals.  The  former  is  natural,  the  latter  artificial.  The 
equality  of  civilized  men  must  be  artificial  because  they 
have  come  to  be  individuals,  and  where  such  individuals 
are,  inequality  is.  They  are  unequal  in  muscles,  in  mind, 
in  money,  in  morals ;  and  if  there  be  any  equality  it  must 
be  created.  What  then  is  to  be  created?  It  inheres  in  a 
like  sharing  of  the  same  rights,  privileges,  and  opportuni- 
ties. .  .  . 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  man  has  not  a  greater  love 
for  inequality  than  for  equality.  Much  of  the  so-called 
passion  for  equality  is  simply  due  to  the  desire  of  the  lower 
in  social  scale  to  assert  themselves  as  the  equal  of  those 
who  are  socially  more  fortunate.  The  spirit  of  inequality 
is  conspicuously  evident  in  the  persistent  and  almost  uni- 
versal desire  of  man  for  the  acquisition  of  personal  prestige 
of  any  kind  whatsoever;  for  the  possession  of  anything, 
however  trivial  and  valueless  in  itself,  that  may  exalt  him 
above  his  fellows;  in  short,  for  whatever  may  create  an 
inequality,  real  or  seeming,  between  him  and  others. 

Men  are  not  so  unequal  by  nature  as  to  warrant  to 
any  class  the  right  always  to  rule  others.  Superiority  is 
not  hereditary,  for  mere  observation  shows  that  a  few 
superior  men  are  to  be  found  among  the  mass.  More- 
over, every  man  possesses  some  hidden  power,  however 
small,  which  he  will  manifest  when  the  right  opportunity 
is  offered.  Intellect  and  knowledge  alone  do  not  consti- 
tute superiority;  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  includes 
qualities  of  character  more  valuable  than  intellectual 
ability.  The  bravest  and  most  useful  and  resourceful 
men  in  the  war  were  not  always  the  best  educated. 

Industry  needs  leaders,  not  only  at  the  top  but  also 
in  the  ranks.  Hence,  we  must  have  inequality.  But  we 
need  to  select  these  leaders  and  give  them  prizes  and 
honors  solely  on  the  basis  of  superiority.  Prizes  stimu- 
late men  to  do  their  best  in  the  competitive  game  of  life. 


122  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

They  stimulate  men  to  work  harder,  to  think  and  dis- 
cover more  efficient  ways  of  doing  things.  We  cannot 
give  prizes  for  excellence  without  noticing  differences  and 
inequalities.  As  Professor  Tufts  has  said :  4 

Equal  opportunity  is  the  necessary  condition  for  progress. 
To  get  the  benefit  of  prizes  and  honors  we  must  first  have 
equal  opportunity.  Just  as  in  the  race  true  honor  comes 
from  winning  against  those  who  are  well  trained  and  thor- 
oughly "fit,"  so  in  life  true  honor  comes  from  winning 
where  every  one  has  a  fair  chance.  Inequality  is  of  benefit 
only  if  we  first  have  equality  of  opportunity.  Where  all 
have  a  fair  chance,  no  one  grudges  success  to  the  best  man. 
Indeed,  the  whole  joy  of  the  sport  is  in  having  the  best 
man  win. 

Cooperative  management  of  industry  opens  to  all  a 
vast  field  for  the  development  of  any  kind  of  excellence. 
It  is  essentially  a  builder  of  men  for  self-expression  and 
self-government. 

IV.  Cooperation  Implies  Consent. — When  labor  re- 
quests a  voice  in  the  conduct  of  business,  the  average 
employer  fears  that  an  attempt  is  being  made  to  under- 
mine his  discipline  and  to  introduce  incompetent  and 
arbitrary  interference  into  the  management  of  his  busi- 
ness. Therefore,  the  interested  parties  have  to  meet  on 
common  ground  and  work  out  a  new  plan  for  their 
mutual  relations,  with  due  regard  for  their  respective 
rights. 

If  the  military  type  of  management  is  abandoned,  it 
does  not  mean  relaxation  of  discipline;  on  the  contrary, 
men  feel  secure  only  when  their  relations  are  determined 
by  a  high  standard  of  individual  and  collective  conduct. 

4J.  H.  Tufts,  op.  cit. 


MEANING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  MANAGEMENT    123 

Harrington  Emerson  made  this  very  judicious  remark 
about  the  attitude  of  employees  toward  discipline : 6 

In  a  great  American  business  the  making  and  enforce- 
ment of  rules  is  turned  over  to  a  committee  of  the  em- 
ployees. It  is  a  universal  experience  that  no  judge  is  as 
severe  and  unrelenting  as  the  more  righteous  contemporary 
with  the  same  temptations  and  opportunities. 

Those  employees  are  sometimes  apt,  when  they  feel  their 
responsibility,  to  dictate  rules  more  severe  than  any  em- 
ployer would  dare  promulgate.  Where  an  esprit  de  corps 
prevails,  it  is  not  rare  for  good  men  to  expel  the  unde- 
sirables. This,  of  course,  is  not  true  where  antagonism 
to  the  management  exists,  for  then  any  infraction  to 
discipline  amuses  the  whole  gang. 

Cooperative  democratic  management,  founded  on  vol- 
untary submission  of  free  men  to  discipline,  is  the  mod- 
ern idea.  Since  a  principle  of  democracy  is  the  rejection 
of  orthodoxy,  every  worker  should  be  credited  with 
ability  to  cooperate  for  the  improvement  of  the  methods 
and  conditions  of  his  own  work.  Besides,  his  consent 
should  be  obtained  in  building  the  standards  of  conduct 
with  which  he  has  to  conform.  His  sentimental  adher- 
ence to  a  common  ideal  is  the  very  cornerstone  of  loyalty. 
If  he  has  the  right  to  discuss  freely  rules  and  even  to 
advocate  their  revision,  he  can  support  faithfully  the 
execution  of  rules  which  he  may  not  approve,  because  he 
expects  eventually  the  same  support  from  others  for 
rules  he  approves.  Reciprocity  of  support  makes  for 
reciprocity  of  adherence. 

The  procedure  of  autocracy  is  to  act  first  and  consult 
afterward.  The  procedure  of  democracy  is  to  consult 
first  and  act  afterward.  Again,  the  questions  involved 
*  Harrington  Emerson,  Twelve  Principles  of  Management. 


124  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

in  industry  are  not  all  disciplinary  or  operative.  A  great 
many  other  interests  must  be  correlated.  Representative 
democracy  in  industry  is  representation  of  organized  in- 
terests, with  a  view  of  arriving  at  agreement  by  the 
consent  of  the  interested  parties. 

V.  Partnership  of  Classes. — Professor  J.  R.  Com- 
mons declares : 8 

In  the  stress  of  national  peril  American  democracy  called 
to  its  aid,  not  only  distinguished  individuals,  but  organized 
opposing  class  interests  of  the  nation.  The  organizations 
themselves  were  incorporated  in  the  framework  of  govern- 
ment. No  longer  were  they  merely  private  associations 
carrying  on  private  contests,  distrusted  and  even  outlawed, 
but  they  were  raised  to  the  level  of  recognized  public 
importance.  Organized  labor,  organized  farmers,  organ- 
ized capitalists  became  public  utilities.  Democracy  takes  on 
a  new  meaning,  the  partnership  of  classes.  .  .  .  The  repre- 
sentative democracy  is  neither  the  imagined  anarchistic 
equality  of  individuals  nor  the  socialistic  dictatorship  of 
labor,  but  it  is  the  equilibrium  of  capital  and  labor,  the 
class  partnership  of  organized  capital  and  organized  labor 
in  the  public  interest. 

To  the  interference  of  labor  in  management,  there  are 
natural  limitations  caused  by  the  nature  of  the  different 
interests  of  labor  and  management.  There  is  no  need 
for  arbitrary  surrender  of  power  or  for  renunciation  of 
natural  rights,  but  for  a  proper  balance  of  interests. 
When  the  single  employer  considers  that  labor  lacks  busi- 
ness experience,  is  ignorant  of  economic  principles,  has  a 
I  menacing  and  destructive  spirit,  is  radical,  and  is  irre- 
sponsible, he  wisely  opposes  any  encroachment  which,  to 
his  mind  and  even  in  fact,  is  likely  to  lead  to  a  catas- 
trophe for  which  he  alone  would  have  to  pay  the  reckon- 

*J.  R.  Commons,  Industrial  Good-Will. 


MEANING  OF  DEMOCRATIC  MANAGEMENT    125 

ing.  For  an  outburst  of  destructive  energy  is  always  to 
be  feared  when  masses  are  suddenly  liberated.  Libera- 
tion, then,  must  be  effected  gradually  in  order  to  prevent 
abuses  and  educate  the  workpeople  for  the  expression  of 
positive  liberty. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

LABOR   REPRESENTATION   IN   ENGLAND 

51.  Works  Committees  in  England. — British  in- 
dustrial people  generally  agree  that  the  root  of  industrial 
troubles  has  been  the  distrust  and  suspicion  between  em- 
ployers and  employed.  In  spite  of  the  unifying  effect 
of  the  war,  this  distrust  may  easily  be  revived  and  aggra- 
vated if  its  causes  are  not  promptly  ascertained,  faced, 
and  removed.  These  causes  are  given  as :  * 

1.  The  dissociation  of  employees  from  any  share  in  the 
control  of  industry  or  responsibility  for  the  conditions  under 
which  it  is  carried  on ; 

2.  The  belief  of  each  side  that  the  other  had  secured  or 
was  trying  to  secure  more  than  its  share  of  the  profits  of 
industry ; 

3.  The  workers'  fear  of  unemployment ;  and 

4.  The   objection    of    some    employers    to    associations 
whether  of  employees  or  employers. 

Of  these  the  first  is  fundamental,  but  it  can  hardly  be 
remedied  until  the  present  conception  of  capital  and  labor 
as  antagonistic  forces  whose  share  of  profits  is  determined 
by  their  relative  strength  is  banished  in  favor  of  an  entirely 
different  outlook  of  life,  based  on  a  frank  recognition  of 
the  solidarity  of  society. 

As  a  means  toward  self-government  in  industry,  gen- 
eral opinion  has  favored  the  revival  and  development  of 
works  committees  composed  of  workers  and  managers 

1  Labor  Rcz-iew,  October,  1918. 

126 


who  meet  and  discuss  their  various  questions.  The 
works  committees  are  not  an  innovation,  they  are  older 
than  trade  unions.  A  works  committee  was  in  existence 
in  printing  works  before  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
and,  in  engineering  and  other  trades,  works  committees, 
which  exercised  a  variety  of  functions,  existed  many 
years  ago.  They  have  dealt  with  questions  affecting  the 
conditions  and  remuneration  of  labor,  with  works 
amenities,  such  as  ventilation,  sanitation,  and  the  like, 
and  with  the  social  interests  of  labor.  In  some  instances, 
they  have  watched  over  the  interests  of  women.  Usually, 
the  older  type  of  works  committees  has  been  composed 
entirely  of  representatives  of  labor,  but  has  occasionally 
included  men  drawn  from  the  ranks  of  employers,  and, 
in  such  instances,  have  developed  into  something  ap- 
proaching a  Conciliation  Board.  War  conditions  led  to 
an  important  development  of  works  committees. 

This  movement  toward  self-government  in  British  in- 
dustry has  a  triple  origin :  2 

1.  From  such  spontaneous  movements,  as  the  shop 
steward  movement,  started  by  the  workers  themselves  to 
get  hold  of  the  management. 

2.  From  the  initiative  of  progressive  employers,  such 
as  Renold  and  Rowntree,  who  voluntarily  abdicated  some 
of  their  autocratic  powers. 

3.  From   government   recommendations   embodied   in 
the  Whitley  Report. 

52.  Shop  Steward  Movement. — During  the  war, 
the  trade-union  officials  had  been  made  liable  to  prosecu- 
tion if  they  organized  strike.  Thus  deprived  of  their 
chief  weapon,  they  lost  authority  and  could  not  effectively 
represent  the  rank  and  file.  As  a  consequence,  the 
1  See  The  Survey  for  January  4,  1919. 


128  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

workers  reorganized  their  shops  on  the  principle  of  self- 
government.  The  new  conditions  made  necessary 
continuous  and  immediate  negotiations  between  work- 
people and  management.  Somebody,  familiar  with  the 
shop  conditions,  was  needed  to  represent  the  workers  on 
such  occasions.  The  shop  steward,  originally  a  dues  col- 
lector and  an  official  elected  by  the  workpeople,  was 
indicated  to  assume  this  new  duty. 

In  commenting  on  the  shop  steward  The  Survey  said :  8 

But  the  shop  stewards  stand  for  something  more  far- 
reaching  and  constructive  in  its  implications  than  the  right 
to  strike.  They  were  asserting  the  right  to  an  increased 
share  in  workshop  management.  They  were  doing  it  with- 
out consultation  with  the  old-line  officials  of  the  unions. 
.  .  .  The  position  of  the  shop  steward  is  a  detail  in  labor 
organization.  But  the  impulse  of  which  the  shop  steward 
is  an  expression  is  from  the  rank  and  file  of  the  labor 
movement.  He  came  at  a  moment  of  arrest  when  the  trade 
union  officials  had  been  blocked  by  war  legislation.  He 
gathered  up  the  dynamic  of  the  rank  and  file  and  went 
ahead,  while  the  officials  had  to  mark  time.  He  captured 
the  imagination  of  the  unrepresented  workers  by  direct 
action.  ...  In  the  hour  when  government  officials  were 
devising  programs  of  workshop  committees  and  joint  coun- 
cils, the  shop  stewards  formed  their  own  committee — a 
living  embodiment  of  the  Whitley  Report. 

Alex.  Ramsay  says :  4 

We  are  faced  with  the  paradoxical  position  that  while  all 
workers  are  fiercely  loyal  to  the  principle  of  unity  in  Trade 
Union,  the  rank  and  file  by  means  of  the  shop-steward  com- 
mittee movement  are  calmly  ignoring  their  union  officials 
.  .  .  such  spirit  is  one  of  sheer  anarchy  and  it  is  the  ex- 
istence of  this  spirit  which  gives  rise  to  most  of  our  anxiety 
and  fear  for  the  future. 

•Ibid. 

*"The  Industrial  Revolution,"  Cassier's,  January,  1918. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  ENGLAND     129 

Organized  labor  maintains  that  the  works  committees 
must  be  a  part  of  the  trade-union  organization;  there- 
fore, it  is  generally  felt  that  the  structure  of  unions  will 
be  reshaped  to  accommodate  the  new  function  of  the  shop 
stewards.  The  shop  stewards,  moreover,  are  a  minority 
of  young  men  who  have  broken  with  tradition  at  the 
place  where  the  fight  is  hardest.  They  seek  to  capture 
the  power  of  final  decision  for  the  rank  and  file.  They 
assert  that  in  production  the  performance  of  every  func- 
tion involves  the  worker's  right  of  control  over  condi- 
tions and  processes.  They  represent  the  revolutionary 
element.  They  admit  that  scientific  management  should 
be  introduced  because  the  amount  of  national  production 
has  not  been  adequate  to  supply  the  full  requirements  of 
the  British  people.  But  its  methods  will  be  closely  scru- 
tinized by  the  works  committees  and  admitted  only  in  so 
far  as  they  safeguard  the  interests,  the  health,  and  the  per- 
sonality of  the  worker.  The  price  of  admitting  scien- 
tific management  is  the  workers'  control  over  the  process 
of  production.5 

53.  The  Whitley  Report. — The  report  on  Joint 
Standing  Industrial  Councils,  generally  known  as  the 
Whitley  Report,  issued  by  the  subcommittee  of  the  Re- 
construction Committee,  to  which  the  question  of  rela- 
tions between  employers  and  employed  has  been  referred, 
is  receiving  a  serious  consideration  in  Great  Britain. 
Among  other  things  it  states : 

While  there  is  no  doubt  that  every  industry  has  problems 
which  can  be  solved  only  if  the  experience  of  every  grade 
and  section  of  the  industry  is  brought  to  bear  on  them, 
hitherto  the  tendency  has  been  for  every  grade  and  section 

'See  "The  New  Constitution  in  British  Industry,"  The  Survey, 
February  i,  1919. 


130  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

to  go  its  own  way.  Whenever  the  government  wishes  to 
ascertain  the  needs  and  opinions  of  an  industry,  instead  of 
an  organization  speaking  with  a  single  voice,  a  dozen  organ- 
izations speak  with  a  dozen  voices.  The  different  sections 
and  interests  are  organized  and  can  put  their  point  of  view ; 
the  industry  as  a  whole  has  no  representative  organization ; 
so  that  the  general  interest  of  the  industry  may  be  over- 
looked. .  .  .  But  no  one  in  industry  wants  an  unnecessary 
stoppage;  these  can  be  prevented  only  by  the  representa- 
tives of  conflicting  interests  meeting  to  thrash  out  their 
differences;  and  all  the  problems  that  will  face  industry 
after  the  war  call  for  continuous  consultation  and  coopera- 
tion of  all  sections,  grades,  and  interests.  For  every  reason, 
therefore,  industrial  councils,  fully  representative  of  all 
sections  and  interests  in  each  industry,  are  an  urgent  neces- 
sity. .  .  .  What  is  needed  is  an  organization  representing 
the  whole  industry  and  capable  of  speaking  for  all  the 
firms  and  all  the  workpeople  employed  in  it. 

What  the  Whitley  Report  suggests  is  a  triple  organi- 
zation :  the  National  Industrial  Council,  the  Trade  Coun- 
cil, and  the  Works  Committees.  This  organization  would 
function  as  follows  :e 

It  is  laid  down  that  the  general  principle  underlying  the 
suggested  Councils  should  be  centralization  of  policy  and 
decentralization  of  administration.  The  basis  of  the  scheme, 
as  put  forward  by  the  Federation,  is  that  of  trade  councils 
of  masters  and  men  drawn  from  Employers'  Federation  and 
Trade  Unions.  Such  a  body,  representing  all  industries, 
would  form  the  National  Industrial  Council. 

Ranking  below  this  would  be  the  Councils  of  particular 
industries  formed  in  the  same  manner,  while  a  third  body 
to  be  known  as  the  Trade  Councils  would  consist  of  repre- 
sentatives of  Employers  Associations  and  the  Trade  Unions 
concerned  with  a  particular  trade  or  section  of  an  industry, 
while  Works  Committees  comprised  of  an  elected  body  of 

6  The  Engineer,  August  24,  1917.  See  also  "The  Industrial  Coun- 
cil Plan  in  Great  Britain,"  compiled  by  the  Bureau  of  Industrial 
Research,  Washington. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  ENGLAND     131 

workpeople  in  each  work  would  also  be  called  into  exist- 
ence. 

The  functions  of  these  Committees  and  Councils  are 
briefly  set  out  in  the  circular  which  has  been  issued.  The 
Works  Committees  would  report  to  or  receive  from  the 
management  complaints  regarding  any  breaches  of  agree- 
ments between  employers  and  workpeople.  The  Trade 
Council  would  be  the  first  Court  of  Appeal  in  case  of  dis- 
pute, and  would  have  the  sole  power  of  dealing  with  agree- 
ments and  other  matters  in  connection  with  the  particular 
trade  or  section,  and  with  any  special  method  delegated  to 
them  by  the  bodies  above  them. 

The  Councils  of  different  industries  would  deal  with 
matters  referred  to  them  by  the  National  Council,  would 
initiate  consideration  of  matters  of  general  interest  to  the 
industry  they  represent,  and  would  decide  on  points  to  be 
submitted  to  the  National  Council. 

The  latter  would  be  the  final  Court  of  Appeal  in  cases  of 
dispute,  and  would  deal  generally  with  subjects  of  interest 
to  all  industries,  and  with  it  would  rest  the  ultimate  decision 
in  all  matters  of  general  policy,  after  ample  opportunity 
had  been  given  for  discussion  and  criticism  by  the  other 
Councils.  .  .  . 

Another  matter  dealt  with  relates  to  the  step  which 
should  be  taken  to  render  agreements  reached  by  the  Indus- 
trial Councils  binding,  and  the  belief  is  expressed  that  only 
the  power  to  recover  penalties  from  funds  reserved  to  meet 
liabilities  involved  would  give  the  necessary  guarantee.  .  .  . 
There  are,  it  is  believed,  many  indications  that  the  lessons 
of  the  war  have  convinced  even  trade  unionists  that  the  old 
rules  and  customs  can  never  be  restored. 

The  Parliamentary  Committee  adds  that  certain  of  the 
recommendations  made  in  the  Whitley  Report  are  not  only 
practicable,  but  have  for  long  been  in  operation  in  several 
industries. 

54.  Object  of  the  Organization. — Among  the  ques- 
tions with  which  the  national  councils  should  deal  or  as- 


132  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

sign  to  district  councils  or  works  committees,  the  report 
suggests  the  following : 

1.  The  better  utilization  of  the  practical  knowledge  and 
experience  of  the  workpeople. 

2.  Means  for  securing  to  the  workpeople  a  greater  share 
and  responsibility  for  the  determination  and  observance  of 
the  conditions  under  which  their  work  is  carried  on. 

3.  The  settlement  of  the  general  principles  governing 
the  conditions  of  employment,  including  the  methods  of 
fixing,  paying,  and  readjusting  wages,  having  regard  to  the 
need  for  securing  to  the  workpeople  a  share  in  the  increased 
prosperity  of  industry. 

4.  The  establishment  of  regular  methods  of  negotiation 
for  issues  arising  between  employers  and  workpeople  with  a 
view  both  to  the  prevention  of  differences  and  to  their  better 
adjustment  when  they  appear. 

5.  Means  of  insuring  to  the  workpeople  the  greatest 
possible  security  of  earnings  and  employment  without  undue 
restriction  upon  change  of  occupation  or  employer. 

6.  Methods  of  fixing  and  adjusting  earnings,  piece-work 
prices,  etc.,  and  of  dealing  with  the  many  difficulties  which 
arise  with  regard  to  the  method  and  amount  of  payment 
apart  from  the  fixing  of  general  standard  rates  which  are 
already  covered  by  paragraph  3. 

7.  Technical  education  and  training. 

8.  Industrial   research   and   the   full  utilization  of   its 
results. 

9.  The  provision  of  facilities  for  the  full  consideration 
and  utilization  of  inventions  and  improvements  designed  by 
workpeople  and  for  the  adequate  safeguarding  of  the  rights 
of  the  designer  of  such  improvements. 

10.  Improvements  of  processes,  machinery,  and  organ- 
ization and  appropriate  questions  relating  to  management 
and  the  examination  of  industrial  experiments,  with  special 
reference  to  cooperation  in  carrying  new  ideas  into  effect 
and  full  consideration  of  the  workpeople's  point  of  view 
in  relation  to  them. 

11.  Proposed  legislation  affecting  industry. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  ENGLAND    133 

Suggestions  as  to  profit  sharing,  copartnership,  or 
particular  systems  of  wages  are  omitted,  since  the  com- 
mittee is  convinced: 

That  a  permanent  improvement  in  the  relations  between 
employers  and  employed  must  be  founded  upon  something 
other  than  a  cash  basis.  What  is  wanted  is  that  the  work- 
people should  have  a  greater  opportunity  for  participating 
in  the  discussion  about  and  adjustment  of  those  parts  of 
industry  by  which  they  are  most  affected. 

It  even  wishes  that  industrial  councils  should  play  a  defi- 
nite and  permanent  part  in  the  distribution  of  raw  ma- 
terials. 

55.  Constitution  of  Industrial  Government. — There 
is  no  idea  of  any  government  intervention  in  the  creation 
of  the  proposed  organization;  rather  each  trade  shall  be 
free  to  build  up  its  own  organization  voluntarily  and 
on  lines  best  suited  to  its  particular  needs.  Indeed,  self- 
government  precludes  autocratic  interference  by  the 
state. 

The  parliamentary  committee  urged  that  the  works 
committees  should  not  interfere  with  the  questions  of 
hours  of  labor  and  wages  as  a  substitute  for  collective 
bargaining  conducted  by  the  trade  unions.  Later  this 
recommendation  was  made:  "In  industry  having  no 
adequate  organization  of  employers  and  employed,  we 
recommended  that  Trade  Boards  should  be  continued  or 
established."  This  means  that,  pending  a  trade-union 
organization,  a  minimum  wage  shall  be  established  in 
these  trades  by  public  authority.  Trade  boards  are  set 
up  by  the  Ministry  of  Labor  to  fix  such  minimum  rates 
of  wages  as  are  enforcible  by  law. 

Further  explanation  of  the  plan  is  as  follows : 


134  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

In  a  supplementary  Report  the  Whitley  committee  has 
defined  more  fully  its  intention.  The  Works  Committees 
should,  as  the  Whitley  Report  proposed,  be  essentially  joint 
associations ;  but  nothing  except  good  would  come  from  the 
understanding  that  from  time  to  time  there  may  be  ques- 
tions which  either  the  employer  or  employed  section  may 
wish  to  discuss  separately.  ...  In  practice  joint  committees 
have  been  rare,  and  the  opinion  expressed  in  the  Memoran- 
dum is  that  committees  of  workers  only,  with  access  to  the 
management,  are  likely  to  be  preferred  generally,  at  least 
in  the  present  preliminary  stage.  Even  if  a  joint  com- 
mittee is  suggested,  the  workmen  should  be  left  to  deter- 
mine for  themselves  the  composition  of  the  committee  and 
the  method  of  its  election.  The  usual  course  is  for  a  com- 
mittee to  be  elected  by  all  the  workmen  employed,  each 
shop  having  one  or  more  members ;  at  the  other  end  of  the 
scale  it  may  be  a  committee  of  the  shop  stewards  of  the 
various  unions  represented  in  the  works,  or,  in  a  large 
works,  represented  by  them.  Sometimes  non-unionists 
may  vote,  but  not  themselves  be  eligible;  and  perhaps  half 
the  seats  on  the  committee  may  be  reserved  for  shop  stew- 
ards. Another  method,  which  deserves  special  notice,  is 
for  the  committee  to  be  elected  not  by  shops  but  by  unions 
represented  in  the  works.  .  .  .  The  Memorandum  says 
plainly  that  wherever  it  is  possible  "a  committee  of  shop 
stewards  or  trade-union  representatives  would  appear  to  be 
the  best  solution."  The  fundamental  purpose  of  these  com- 
mittees as  contemplated  in  the  Memorandum  is  plainly  to 
deal  with  grievances,  and  the  discussion  of  procedure  is 
confined  to  this  purpose.7 

That  is  why  the  Memorandum  considers  that  all  pro- 
posals for  establishing  a  works  committee  should  be 
brought  before  the  trade  union  concerned,  and  the  trade 
union  should  be  asked  to  share  in  its  formation. 

56.  Functions  of  Works  Committees. — The  works 
committees  are  described  as  practically  always  consulta- 

T  The  Times  Engineering  Supplement,  London,  June,  1918. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  ENGLAND     135 

tives,  and,  though  in  the  last  resort  they  can  induce  the 
trade  union  to  call  a  strike,  the  management  has  the 
executive  power.  The  manager  considers  carefully  every 
recommendation  presented  to  him.  The  committee  must 
rely  on  his  sense  of  justice,  and  on  this  point  E.  T. 
Elbourne  says : 8 

When  a  positive  refusal  to  modify  existing  arrangements 
has  been  the  only  suitable  reply,  reasons  are  always  fur- 
nished for  this  action.  No  regulation  is  good  if  unsup- 
ported by  sufficient  reasons.  Discipline  is  maintained  but 
not  arbitrarily.  Here  has  been  no  tendency  to  weaken  dis- 
cipline. The  aim  is  to  improve  administration  and  augment 
good  feeling.  Nothing  is  done  in  the  spirit  of  bargaining 
or  concession  or  benevolence  but  as  a  step  toward  more 
perfect  coordination. 

The  management  reserves  the  right  to  issue  instructions 
without  consulting  the  committee,  as  when  opinion  is  likely 
to  be  divided. 

As  to  practical  result,  the  Ministry  of  Labor  an- 
nounced :9 

Committees  mean  discussion;  discussion  takes  time;  and 
from  this  point  of  view  it  is  sometimes  argued  that  a  Works 
Committee  may  tend  to  slow  down  the  pace  of  industry; 
and,  again  that  it  may  be  difficult  to  convince  a  committee 
of  the  value  and  feasibility  of  a  new  idea  or  process,  so 
that  the  way  of  innovation  may  be  somewhat  impeded. 
These  are  theoretical  objections.  In  practice  Works  Com- 
mittees— the  evidence  would  suggest — have  improved  time- 
keeping and  increased  output.  ...  In  practice,  again,  they 
have  been  the  opposite  of  conservative,  and  instead  of 
checking  change  they  have  themselves  suggested  change. 
.  .  .  They  make  for  better  relations  and  greater  harmony, 
and  these  are  the  things  that  matter  most  in  industry. 

§  "Labour  Administration,"  The  Engineer,  September  27,  1918. 
1 'Tht  Survey,  February  i,  1919. 


136  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

More  time  is  gained  by  the  absence  of  disputes  than  is  lost 
by  the  presence  of  discussion. 

57.  Present    Extension. — Public    opinion,    asserts 
E.  T.  Elbourne,  may  be  taken  to  be,  broadly,  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  principle  of  the  works  committee.     And 
further  quoting  from  The  Survey.10 

The  Federation  of  British  Industries  accepted  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Whitley  Report.  The  Federation  has  a 
membership  of  124  associations  and  691  firms  and  individ- 
uals representing  over  9,000  firms  in  many  trades.  On  its 
central  council  are  represented  75  per  cent,  of  the  important 
industries  of  Great  Britain  employing  over  three  million 
workmen  and  with  a  capital  of  over  nine  billion  dollars. 
The  Trade  Union  Congress  of  1917  accepted  the  Whitley 
Report.  The  Congress  of  1918  called  on  the  Government  to 
apply  it  to  all  departments  of  state  service. 

The  works  committee  is  still  in  a  probationary  stage. 
Its  further  development  will  depend  upon  the  self-control 
and  wisdom  of  its  members  and  upon  its  ability  to  in- 
crease output  and  efficiency.  Such  a  development  of 
trade  unionism,  however,  remains  an  object  of  anxiety 
for  many  of  those  concerned,  because  it  is  a  machinery 
which,  centrally  and  still  more  locally,  can  be  captured  by 
a  relatively  small  body  of  men  whose  influence  may  not 
necessarily  be  used  for  the  good  of  industry  and  society. 

58.  Objections  to  the  British  Plan.— The  Whitley 
Report  is  the  greatest  history-making  document  in  the 
evolution  of  industrial  relations.    It  is  a  masterpiece,  in- 
spired by  the  particular  conditions  of  the  labor  problem 
in  Great  Britain.    Nevertheless,  from  our  point  of  view, 
it  arouses  some  objections. 

In  so  far  as  we  can  see  from  its  application,  the  actual 

"The  Survey,  loc.  cit. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  ENGLAND    137 

aim  of  the  plan  is  mainly  adjustment  of  grievances.  Con- 
sequently, the  logical  course  of  organization  has  been  to 
strengthen  the  machinery  for  conciliation,  that  is,  to  de- 
velop unions  and  employers'  associations  which  have  been 
and  are  likely  to  remain  fighting  factions. 

The  reconstruction  movement  in  Great  Britain  seems 
to  be  characterized  by  the  lack  of  personal  touch  and 
leadership  so  necessary  for  arriving  at  a  mutual  under- 
standing. The  workers'  representatives  generally  meet 
by  themselves,  and  the  employer  dispenses  concessions  ac- 
cording to  his  own  sense  of  justice. 

In  establishing  an  industrial  government,  the  political 
methods  of  the  old  regime  are  likely  to  prevail.  It  is 
quite  natural,  then,  that  each  party  will  strive  first  to 
secure  a  position  of  supremacy  and  to  advance  its  in- 
terests at  the  expense  of  the  other.  This  belligerent  at- 
titude is  likely  to  persist.  The  revolt  of  the  rank  and  file 
against  their  union  leaders  indicates  the  impatience  of 
labor  to  assert  its  power,  and  the  tendency  of  the  rising 
tide  of  the  mass  to  submerge  its  opponent.  Reaction 
from  the  employer  will  probably  follow.  Moreover,  the 
organization  on  a  national  scale  is  so  unwieldy  that  it  is 
impossible  to  arrive  at  a  decision  with  the  rapidity  which 
is  so  desirable  in  adjusting  differences.  Delays  increase 
irritation  more  than  grievances  themselves  do. 

Although  the  Whitley  Report  contains  other  possibili- 
ties, in  reality  the  movement  seems  to  be  limited  to  the 
organization  of  material  interests.  But  interest  alone  is 
a  dangerous  basis,  because  labor  feels  beyond  the  law. 
Any  fanatic  can  move  the  mass  in  the  name  of  its  rights 
and  make  trouble.  Reconstruction  is  not  a  mere  organi- 
zation of  interests  but  should  be  a  constructive  organi- 
zation for  cooperation  in  the  pursuit  of  collective  pur- 


138  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

poses.  Of  course,  the  British  Government  has  weighty 
reasons  for  starting  the  organization  cf  industry  on  a 
national  scale ;  but  this  does  not  seem  to  be  an  example  to 
follow  in  America,  at  least  in  the  beginning,  because  con- 
ditions in  industry  in  the  two  countries  are  different.  In 
Great  Britain,  the  unions  are  more  powerful,  the  popu- 
lation is  homogeneous,  industry  is  more  standardized  and 
less  varied  than  in  America,  and  the  organization  covers 
a  much  smaller  territory. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

LABOR   REPRESENTATION    IN   AMERICA 

59.  Development  of  Labor  Representation. — For 

many  years  the  old  idea  of  collective  bargaining  has  re- 
ceived practical  application  in  this  country,  and  even  the 
participation  of  labor  in  management  is  not  new ;  for,  as 
early  as  1902,  Holbrook  Porter  installed  a  committee  sys- 
tem in  the  Westinghouse  Lamp  Works  in  Pittsburgh,1 
and  he  claims  he  shortly  succeeded  in  bringing  a  run- 
down shop  into  a  paying  business. 

John  Leitch  claims  he  has  installed  more  than  forty 
"industrial  democracies"  during  these  ten  years.  The 
Colorado  plan  adopted  in  1915  was  the  first  experiment 
of  labor  representation  on  a  large  scale.  But  it  is  only 
since  1918  that  the  National  War  Labor  Board  gave  the 
impetus  to  the  shop-committee  movement.  For,  by  agree- 
ment with  the  representatives  of  capital  and  labor,  the 
Board  established  the  following  principle :  "The  right  of 
workers  to  organize  in  trade-unions  and  to  bargain  col- 
lectively through  chosen  representatives  is  recognized 
and  affirmed." 

The  shop-committee  idea  was  developed  because  the 
union  officials  were  outsiders  and  unable  to  handle  the 
daily  internal  questions  of  production.  Therefore,  ma- 
chinery was  needed  to  settle  between  the  interested  parties 

1  Engineering  Magazine,  August,  1905. 

139 


i4o  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

all  questions  of  such  sort,  where  and  when  they  arose. 
The  Board  introduced  several  large  organizations  of  shop 
committees  for  the  settlement  of  grievances,  and  since 
that  time  many  important  concerns  have  developed  the 
system  for  larger  functions.  There  is  no  room  here  for 
a  detailed  survey  of  these  organizations.  For  this  I  refer 
to  the  special  literature  listed  at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

I  would  not  consider  the  welfare  committee  as  a  form 
of  democratic  government  in  industry,  for  they  create  a 
rather  dangerous  illusion  of  cooperation  in  management. 
The  simpler  form  of  organization,  adequate  only  for 
small  works,  is  the  one  committee  system  exemplified  by 
the  Workshop  Council  of  the  Irving  Pitt  Company  at 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  described  by  Factory  for  January, 
1919. 

60.  War  Labor  Board  Plan. — Another  more  com- 
plete form  of  organization  is  the  War  Labor  Board  com- 
mittee system  of  personal  relation,  fairly  illustrated  by 
the  following  procedure  of  the  Lynn  plan,  quoted  from 
W.  L.  Stoddard.2 

PROCEDURE  IN  MATTERS  REQUIRING  ADJUSTMENT 

1.  Committee  on  Fair  Dealing. — The  employees'  repre- 
sentatives of  each  section  shall  constitute  a  Committee  on 
Fair  Dealing  to  cooperate  with  the  Management  in  foster- 
ing just  and  harmonious  relations  between  the  Management 
and  employees. 

2.  Reference  to  Foreman. — Any  matter  requiring  ad- 
justment may,  in  the  first  instance,  be  referred  by  the  em- 
ployee affected  either  personally  or  with  one  or  both  of  the 
representatives  of  his  section,  to  the  foreman  of  the  work 
on  which  the  employee  is  engaged. 

5.  Reference  to  the  Joint  Shop  Committee. — If  the  fore- 
man fails  to  adjust  satisfactorily  any  matter  referred  to 

'W.  L.  Stoddard,  The  Shop  Committee. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA     141 

him,  it  shall  then  be  reduced  to  writing  and  taken  up  by  the 
Joint  Shop  Committee.  This  Committee  shall  endeavor 
finally  to  dispose  of  the  matter  and  shall  be  at  liberty  to 
adopt  such  means  as  are  necessary,  including  the  calling  of 
witnesses  by  either  side,  adequately  to  ascertain  the  facts 
and  render  a  fair  decision.  Should  the  Committee  reach  a 
decision  satisfactory  to  the  employee  originating  the  matter, 
or  should  the  Committee  reach  a  unanimous  decision  on  the 
subject,  this  decision  shall  be  regarded  as  terminating  the 
matter. 

4.  Reference  to  the  Manufacturing  Engineer  or  Depart- 
ment Head. — Should  the  Committee  fail  satisfactorily  to 
adjust  a  matter  referred  to  it,  a  written  report  shall  be 
made,  together  with   the   recommendations   of  the   Com- 
mittee, if  any,  and  this  report  shall  be  submitted  to  the 
department  head  or  manufacturing  engineer  for  his  atten- 
tion. 

5.  References  to  the  General  Joint  Committee  on  Ad- 
justment.— Should    the    Manufacturing    Engineer    fail    to 
adjust  satisfactorily  any  matter  referred  to  him,  the  ques- 
tion may  then  be  referred  to  the  General  Joint  Committee 
on  Adjustment  for  action  and  report  thereon  to  the  Man- 
agement.    Should  the  Committee  reach  a  decision  on  any 
matter  referred  to  it  which  is  satisfactory  to  the  employee 
or  employees  originating  the  matter,  or  should  the  decision 
of  the  Committee  on  the  question  be  unanimous,  this  deci- 
sion shall  terminate  the  matter.     In  case  the  Committee 
fails  to  reach  a  decision  under  the  preceding  provisions,  it 
shall  be  referred  to  the  Manager. 

RECORDS  OF  COMMITTEE  MEETINGS 

Every  Joint  Committee  shall  keep  accurate  records  of  its 
proceedings. 

MANAGER'S  REPRESENTATIVE 

The  Manager  may  appoint  an  industrial  representative  to 
facilitate  close  relationship  between  the  Management  and 
the  representatives,  and  at  any  stage  in  the  program  of  pro- 
ceedings the  Manager's  representative  may  be  called  in  to 


142  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

exercise  his  good  offices.    He  may  attend  any  meeting  but 
shall  have  no  vote. 

DISCRIMINATION 

There  shall  be  no  discrimination  either  on  the  part  of  the 
employees  or  the  Management  in  respect  to  race,  creed, 
society,  fraternity,  or  union. 

ACCOMMODATION 

The  Management  shall  provide  a  suitable  place  for  meet- 
ings and  defray  such  expenses  as  are  necessarily  incidental 
to  the  activities  herein  provided  for. 

AMENDMENTS 

Any  course  of  procedure  herein  provided  for  may  be 
amended  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Routine,  Procedure,  and  Elections. 

The  characteristic  of  the  Board's  system  is  that  mat- 
ters of  every  section  are  handled  by  its  own  committee. 
The  general  committee  is  only  a  body  for  appeal. 

61.  Industrial  Democracy. — The  so-called  Indus- 
trial Democracy  tends  to  duplicate  in  industry  the  forms 
of  the  United  States  Government.  It  is  formed  by  a 
House  of  Representatives  elected  by  the  workpeople, 
a  Senate  composed  of  minor  officials  appointed  by  the 
management,  and  a  Cabinet  constituted  by  the  chief 
executive  and  his  staff.  Both  the  House  and  Senate  can 
appoint  committees  for  the  preparation  and  transaction 
of  any  matter  of  management. 

This  plan  presupposes  a  greater  similarity  between  in- 
dustry and  government  than  really  exists.  Such  a  view 
has  not  been  shared  by  the  War  Labor  Board.  W.  L. 
Stoddard  discussed  this  point  as  follows: 

The  shop-committee  system  of  government  does  not  re- 
semble the  kind  of  representative  democratic  government 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA     143 

we  have,  for  example,  in  the  United  States.  The  theory  of 
the  American  government  is  that  the  people  elect  their 
servants  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  and  execute  laws  under  a 
constitution,  which  in  turn  can  be  changed  by  the  people. 
The  theory  of  the  shop-committee  system  form  of  govern- 
ment is  that  the  employees  elect  their  representatives  who 
meet  with  an  equal  number  of  representatives  of  the  man- 
agement. Thus  in  the  U.  S.  Government  there  is  only  one 
source  of  power,  the  people.  In  the  shop-committee  system 
government  there  are  two  sources  of  power.  This  is  what 
is  commonly  called  "joint  control,"  and  the  various  branches 
of  the  government  are  called  "joint  committees." 

But  the  phrase  "joint  control  is  bound  to  be  misunder- 
stood if  it  is  not  explained  further.  The  relations  between 
employer  and  employee  in  a  factory  having  a  shop-com- 
mittee system  are  controlled  jointly  or  collectively  up  to  a 
certain  point  only.  The  committeemen  representing  the 
employees  may  be  able  to  agree  with  the  committeemen  rep- 
resenting the  management  on  a  large  number  of  important 
matters,  but  when  they  fail  to  agree,  the  joint  method  of 
settling  disputes  is  at  an  end :  the  matter  goes  to  the  man- 
ager, who,  being  in  charge  of  the  factory,  has  the  veto 
power.  The  manager  will  side  either  with  the  employees 
or  with  his  own  representatives.  In  any  case  his  decision  is 
final,  so  far  as  the  shop-committee  system  is  concerned.  If, 
however,  the  matter  in  dispute  is  vital  to  the  employees  they 
may  ask  that  it  be  arbitrated  by  outside  parties  and  they  will 
probably  threaten  to  stop  work  if  it  is  not  left  to  some 
impartial  body,  such  as  the  War  Labor  Board.  Such  a  case 
shows  clearly  that  the  shop-committee  system  is  not  in  itself 
complete.  ...  In  the  U.  S.  Government,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  people  are  theoretically  supreme,  and  there  is  no  veto 
power  over  them.  ...  In  a  shop-committee  system  we  have 
two  different  elements  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting 
and  bargaining  with  each  other. 

This  contrast  may  be  seen  more  clearly  by  comparing  the 
shop-committee  form  of  government  to  the  government  of 
a  genuinely  cooperative  industry  in  which  the  workers  have 


144  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

a  direct  voice  in  the  management  because  they  are  part 
owners  of  the  enterprise. 

62.  Works  Councils. — The  type  of  this  kind  of  rep- 
resentation is  the  Harvester  plan  in  which  the  legislative 
body  is  a  large  council  composed  of  equal  number  of 
employee   representatives   and   management    representa- 
tives.    This  council  may  appoint  such  sub-committees 
of  its  members  as  it  deems  desirable  for  the  conduct  of 
its  business. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Works  Council  is  very  wide. 
It  may  consider  and  make  recommendations  on  all  ques- 
tions relating  to  recreation,  education,  protection  of 
health,  safety,  working  conditions,  and  other  similar  mat- 
ters of  mutual  interest  to  employees  and  management. 
But  it  shall  be  concerned  chiefly  with  shaping  the  policies 
of  the  company  relating  to  these  matters.  After  the  poli- 
cies of  the  company  have  been  settled,  their  execution 
shall  remain  with  the  management;  but  the  manner  of 
that  execution  may  at  any  time  be  a  subject  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Works  Council. 

When  the  vote  of  the  Works  Council  remains  a  tie, 
the  matter  is  referred  to  the  President,  who  shall  either 
propose  a  settlement  or  refer  the  matter  to  the  General 
Council  of  the  various  works  or,  by  mutual  agreement, 
to  arbitration. 

63.  Results. — Although  the  large  shop-committee 
organizations  are  too  recent  to  warrant  a  conclusive  ap- 
preciation,  satisfaction  is  generally  voiced  as  to  their 
work.     In  the  large  organizations  operated  by  the  War 
Labor  Board  plan,  "there  is  the  same  difference,"  says 
W.  L.  Stoddard,  "between  men  and  management  as  there 
is  between  life  in  an  unorganized  community  and  one  in 
which  law  and  order  have  been  established."     And  he 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA     145 

quotes  R.  H.  Rice,  acting  manager  of  the  Lynn  Works 
of  the  General  Electric  Company,  as  saying: 

Through  these  joint  committees  .  .  .  one  of  the  chief 
advantages  of  the  plan  may  be  realized,  namely,  the  educa- 
tion of  the  employee  members  of  these  committees  in  the 
needs,  requirements,  and  technicalities  of  the  business  may 
be  brought  about,  and  through  these  members  an  education 
of  the  employees  themselves  may  be  secured  which  can  in 
no  other  way  be  brought  about. 

J.  N.  Larkin,  assistant  to  the  President  of  the  Beth- 
lehem Steel  Company,  wrote :  3 

In  making  their  recommendations  to  the  management  the 
representatives  showed  a  full  understanding  of  the  issue 
involved.  They  were  fair,  open-minded,  and  aboveboard, 
and  approached  the  many  matters  brought  to  their  attention 
with  the  right  attitude,  considering  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  employees'  side  and  the  management's  side. 

W.  L.  Stoddard  published  a  list  of  forty-four  con- 
cerns which  have  adopted  recently  the  shop-committee 
system.  The  favor  which  it  received  is  illustrated  by  the 
following  declaration  of  Stephen  C.  Mason,  President  of 
the  National  Association  of  Manufacturers :  * 

It  may  be  timely  to  record  the  fact  that  the  question  of 
collective  shop  bargaining,  or  cooperative  representation, 
already  has  had  earnest  consideration  by  a  large  number  of 
manufacturers  throughout  the  country,  and  practical  and 
successful  plans  embodying  such  purposes  are  already  in 
operation  in  many  important  establishments.  In  the  adop- 
tion of  these  industrial  representation  plans  no  question  is 
raised  regarding  the  membership  of  workers  in  outside 
organizations. 

'Industrial  Management,  June,  1919. 

*  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ences, March,  1919. 


146  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

These  plans  present  methods  by  which  employees  can 
deal  collectively,  through  representatives  selected  or  elected 
by  them,  with  their  employers  in  relation  to  all  questions 
and  conditions  of  employment.  They  will  furnish  a  new 
channel  of  communication  between  wage-earners  and  wage- 
payers  whereby  they  may  better  be  able  to  avoid  misunder- 
standings and  mutually  agree  upon  satisfactory  adjust- 
ments of  wages,  working  conditions,  etc.,  and  promote  and 
establish  such  friendly  relationships  and  cooperative  spirit 
as  will  be  beneficial  and  to  the  best  interests  of  both.  Such 
activities  are  clearly  within  the  scope  of  this  principle  of 
our  organization. 

64.  Discussion. — i.  The  War  Labor  Board  plan 
seems  to  be  satisfactory  as  an  introduction  of  democratic 
management  and  as  an  educational  process ;  but  it  covers 
only  a  few  of  the  questions  of  management. 

2.  The  industrial  democracy  seems  to  disregard  the 
leadership  of  the  employer  and  to  assume  that  the  work 
people   are   the   main   source   of   constructive   thought. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  tkey  can  improve  details  and,  in 
certain  cases,  have  actually  renovated  the  manufacturing 
process;  but  such  wonderful  results  are  possible  only  in 
very  simple  industries,  and  in  run-down,  mismanaged,  or 
rather  unmanaged,  factories  where  common  sense  makes 
an  engineer  from  a  laborer. 

3.  In  the  other  plans,  the  essential  question  of  leader- 
ship is  also  too  indefinite,  and  the  uniform  procedure  of 
these  plans  in  dealing  with  widely  different  questions, 
does  not  seem  to  protect  sufficiently  the  rights  of  the  em- 
ployer and  does  not  provide  adequate  treatment  of  the 
different  matters  brought  before  committees.     A  greater 
division  and  specialization  of  functions  is  a  psychological 
as  well  as  an  economic  necessity  for  the  requirements  of 
the  different  phases  of  industry. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA     147 

65.  Local  vs.  National  Organization:  L  Contrast. 
— The  contrast  between  American  and  British  policies  is 
marked  by  the  tendency  of  the  former  to  organize  in- 
dividual establishments  and  of  the  latter  to  organize  na- 
tionally. Americans  are  making  a  democratic  govern- 
ment in  each  unit  plant,  while  the  Whitley  Report  con- 
stitutionalizes  each  trade  and  suggests  works,  district, 
and  national  joint  councils,  which  together  constitute  a 
whole  industrial  government. 

Which  one  of  these  views  is  right?  Opinions  are 
divided,  even  in  England ;  C.  G.  Renold  said : 5 

And  believing  as  I  do,  that  the  existing  industrial  system, 
with  all  its  faults  and  injustices,  must  still  form  the  basis 
of  any  future  system,  I  am  concerned  to  show  that  a  con- 
siderable development  of  joint  action  between  management 
and  workers  is  possible,  even  under  present  conditions. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  to  the  practical  means  of  settle- 
ment of  the  industrial  question  without  the  political  and 
industrial  turmoil  which  menaces  England,  Harry  Tipper 
declared : 6 

This  can  be  done  best  by  the  individual  organization  ar- 
ranging matters  with  its  employees.  The  difficulty  of 
accomplishing  this  in  an  orderly  way  through  organizing 
labor  and  organizing  groups  of  manufacturers  is  being  illus- 
trated in  Great  Britain  to-day  in  the  difficulties  of  arriving 
at  agreement.  The  ease  with  which  it  can  be  done  in  the 
industrial  organization,  provided  that  it  is  permeated  by 
the  spirit  of  square-dealing,  is  indicated  by  the  number  of 
organizations  of  this  kind  which  have  been  started  in  the 
last  four  years  in  this  country  without  any  turmoil  and 
which  are  successfully  handling  the  problems  as  they  come 
UP- 

5  The  Survey  Reprint. 

*  Automotive  Industries,  April  3,  1919. 


I48  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Let  us  see  what  Charles  M.  Schwab  has  to  say  about 
it:7 

I  am  not  opposed  to  organized  labor.  I  believe  that  labor 
should  organize  in  individual  plants  or  among  themselves 
for  the  better  negotiation  of  labor  and  the  protection  of 
their  own  rights ;  but  the  organization  and  control  of  labor 
in  individual  plants  and  manufactures,  to  my  mind,  ought 
to  be  made  representative  of  the  people  in  those  plants  who 
know  the  conditions;  that  they  ought  not  to  be  controlled 
by  somebody  from  Kamchatka  who  knows  nothing  about 
what  their  conditions  are.  .  .  . 

That  is  what  I  feel  is  our  duty,  as  manufacturers  now,  if 
we  want  to  preserve  the  situation  in  America.  We  have  to 
study  it  with  utmost  care.  Each  manufacturer  must  study 
his  own  case  and  his  own  situation  from  his  own  standpoint 
and  must  know  his  own  conditions.  There  can  be  no  gen- 
eral rule  that  will  be  applicable  to  all.  We  ought  to  urge  a 
continuance  of  work  in  every  direction.  Matters  will  adjust 
themselves  industrially  in  this  country  sooner  or  later  by 
the  natural  course  of  events,  but  what  we  want  to  prevent 
is  that  sudden  slip  of  the  cog  which  will  give  us  a  social 
jolt  that  may  be  dangerous  to  our  industries  for  years  to 
come.  We  must  be  patient.  We  must  go  along  with  small 
or  no  profit  if  necessary.  We  must  bend  every  effort  to 
keep  our  employees  busy,  employed,  and  satisfied.  They 
must  be  made  to  realize  the  situation  as  we  see  it  and  be 
content  to  help  us  in  that  development.  We  must  listen 
with  patience  to  their  side  of  the  story,  and  we  must  induce 
them  to  listen  with  patience  to  our  side  of  the  story.  The 
day  of  autocracy  in  government  and  labor  has  gone  by.  It 
is  the  day  of  democracy  in  which  we  now  stand  shoulder 
to  shoulder  for  the  protection  of  our  mutual  interests  and 
above  all  for  the  protection  and  glorification  of  this  great 
and  glorious  country  of  ours. 

''Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ences, January,  1919. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA     149 

Besides  the  opinion  of  many  British  authorities  the 
other  side  is  supported  in  this  country  also;  among  the 
advocates  of  this  idea,  Felix  Frankfurter,  Chairman  of 
the  Labor  Policies  Board,  said : 8 

What  American  business  needs  is  the  substitution  of  law 
and  order  for  the  present  conflict  between  anarchy  and 
violence.  .  .  .  Not  until  we  constitutionalize  industry  .  .  . 
not  until  we  have  transferred  to  our  industrial  life  what  we 
have  proved  and  tested  in  our  political  life,  will  we  have  a 
law  and  order  and  peace  that  will  be  abiding. 

And  with  much  reason,  V.  Everit  Macy  maintained : 9 

If  an  employer  does  not  wish  to  enter  into  an  agreement 
with  a  union,  that  is  his  privilege,  but  he  certainly  cannot 
justly  refuse  to  enter  into  an  agreement  on  wages  and 
working  conditions  with  a  committee  representing  his  own 
employees.  In  dealing  with  a  recognized  union  the  em- 
ployer has  the  advantage  of  knowing  the  union  is  protecting 
him  from  unfair  competition  as  to  wages  and  hours  by 
competing  firms,  while  a  committee  of  his  own  employees 
can  give  no  such  guarantee.  If  the  employers  and  men  in 
an  industry  are  thoroughly  organized,  wages  and  conditions 
can  thus  be  stabilized  and  the  turnover  of  labor  caused  by 
the  men  changing  from  shop  to  shop  to  get  better  wages 
can  be  avoided. 

This  unbalanced  power  of  labor  obtains  in  shops  man- 
aged by  industrial  democracy;  for  indeed,10  "in  every 
case  wages  are  as  high  or  higher  and  hours  as  short  or 
shorter  than  the  union  scale  for  the  district." 

John  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  expressed  the  largest  vision  in 
his  speech  at  Atlantic  City  when  he  affirmed :  u 

*The  Survey,  December,  1918. 

•  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ences, January,  1919. 

10  John  Leitch,  Man  to  Man. 

u  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ences, January,  1919. 


ISO  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

I  believe  that  the  most  effective  structure  of  representa- 
tion is  that  which  is  built  from  the  bottom  up;  which  in- 
cludes all  employees;  which  starts  with  the  election  of  the 
representatives  and  the  formation  of  joint  committees  in 
each  industrial  plant,  proceeds  to  the  formation  of  joint 
district  councils  and  annual  joint  conferences  in  a  single 
industrial  corporation,  and  admits  of  extension  to  all  cor- 
porations in  the  same  industry  as  well  as  to  all  industries  in 
a  community,  in  a  nation,  and  in  the  various  nations. 

We  shall  see  why  the  question  is  not  whether  we  should 
constitutionalize  industry  or  not,  but  whether  we  should 
start  with  the  individual  concern  or  on  a  national  scale. 
Enough  has  already  been  said  to  show  that  a  national 
organization  cannot  be  a  starting  step  but  is  rather  an 
ideal  for  progressive  attainment. 

//.  The  Unit  Organization. — The  actual  industrial 
situation  presents  a  sea  of  petty  annoyances  which  have 
to  be  cleared  before  the  real  questions  of  labor  may  be 
sanely  envisaged.  Such  clearing  can  be  done  in  the  shop 
only.  A  new  mental  attitude  must  be  created,  a  new  re- 
lationship established,  and  a  new  loyalty  secured.  Such  a 
spiritual  change  can  be  accomplished  only  by  personal 
touch.  The  start  requires  great  initiative  and  discretion, 
and  an  easy  procedure.  As  self-government  develops, 
the  questions  will  become  more  collective  and  less  in- 
dividual, and  will  naturally  require  larger  machinery. 

///.  Deficiency  of  the  Unit  Organization. — The  suc- 
cess of  individual  concerns  which  have  experimented  with 
labor  representation  does  not  warrant  that  they  should 
stop  at  this  stage.  Their  economic  success  is  due  as  much 
to  the  inefficiency  of  their  competitors  as  to  their  own 
efficiency.  When  all  the  concerns  of  a  given  trade  shall 
be  organized,  the  struggle  of  competition  will  be  renewed 
and  compel  the  employers  to  organize  nationally. 


LABOR  REPRESENTATION  IN  AMERICA     151 

In  a  local  organization,  the  employer  is  left  at  the 
mercy  of  his  personnel  and  his  position  with  regard  to 
competitors  is  unchanged.  Such  a  position  is  as  dan- 
gerous to  him  as  it  is  intolerable ;  for  there  is  no  principle 
in  the  world  in  the  name  of  which  the  employer  should 
become  a  dependent.  Therefore,  the  balancing  of  the 
powers  of  employers  and  personnel  becomes  a  logical  ne- 
cessity; and,  as  a  result,  industrial  organization  will  de- 
velop beyond  the  plant.  The  balancing  of  trades  against 
one  another  will  determine  in  the  market  of  labor  the 
respective  values  of  the  functions  and  services  of  work- 
ers. This  will  release  the  employer  from  the  question  of 
compensation  and  transfer  among  the  different  groups 
of  workers  the  eventual  disputes  concerning  wages.  In- 
deed, in  the  final  analysis,  wages  are  not  paid  by  em- 
ployers but  by  consumers.  As  to  cost,  the  scale  of  wages 
is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  employers  if  wages  are 
standardized.  It  is  logical  then  that  the  organization  of 
workers,  as  consumers,  have  a  voice  in  regulating  the 
wages  of  each  group  of  producers. 

IV.  Evolution  of  Unions. — In  England,  the  shop-com- 
mittee movement  is  merged  with  the  development  of 
unions;  whereas  in  the  United  States,  from  its  earliest 
beginnings,  the  shop-committee  movement  has  been  neu- 
tral toward  unions. 

As  W.  L.  Stoddard  says:12 

The  primary  function  of  the  shop  committee  is,  there- 
fore, local  to  the  plant,  and  shop-committee  systems  may 
exist  in  open  shop  or  in  closed  shops  without  effecting  any 
basic  change  in  the  relation  of  the  management  to  organ- 
ized labor.  The  question  of  relationship  of  the  shop  com- 
mittee to  the  union  appears  to  be  a  matter  of  relatively 

11  W.  L.  Stoddard,  The  Shop  Committee. 


152  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

minor  importance,  for  the  reason  that  both  the  labor  union 
and  the  employers'  union  are  in  process  of  changing  their 
functions  and  of  adjusting  themselves  to  the  new  forms  of 
joint  unions  based  on  the  principle  ...  of  the  shop  com- 
mittee. It  is  now,  therefore,  seen  to  be  the  fact  that  the 
shop  committee  promotes  unionization  of  the  workers,  just 
as  it  promotes  unionization  of  the  employers,  but  that  it 
promotes  that  unionization  for  a  fresh  purpose  and  in  a 
fresh  way. 

To  sketch  the  problem  in  its  vast  outline  is  to  acknowl- 
edge our  inability  to  treat  it  adequately;  for  coopera- 
tion in  management  is  still  experimental.  What  plan  is 
finally  to  be  applied  on  a  national  scale  must  depend  upon 
the  teaching  of  experience.  That  is  the  reason  why  only 
the  essentials  can  be  stated  at  this  time,  and  why  much 
room  is  left  for  assumption  and  speculation.  My  justi- 
fication for  taking  up  these  issues  is  that  an  analysis  of 
the  industrial  problem  may  assist  in  clarifying  it  and  in 
disposing  of  some  of  the  fallacies  which  now  prevent  our 
seeing  a  way  to  its  settlement. 


CHAPTER  XV 

FUNCTIONS  OF  COOPERATIVE  MANAGEMENT 

66.  A  Positive  Attitude  is  Essential. — It  is  obvious 
that  the  new  industrial  organization  must  make  provision 
for  ventilating  quickly  the  many  grievances  which  may 
be  voiced  at  the  beginning  of  its  activity.     But  after  a 
certain  period  of  readjustment,  real  grievances  will  be 
few,  and  the  remaining  disagreements  will  be  only  those 
inherent  in  production.     The  problem  of  labor  is  not 
merely  how  to  settle  disputes  and  appease  unrest,  but 
how  to  manage  industrial  affairs  so  as  to  attain  indefi- 
nitely conscious  progress.    We  must  drop  thinking  nega- 
tively in  terms  of  complaints  and  think  positively  in  terms 
of  constructive  change  or  variation.     Such  a  change  in 
point  of  view  is  fundamental  to  convert  hostility  into  co- 
operation. 

67.  Judicial    Organization. — Grievances    may    be 
classified,  as  to  the  subject  of  complaint,  into  four  classes. 
They  may  be  formulated  against:   (i)   persons  or  the 
company;  (2)  equipment  and  plant;  (3)  standard  rules 
or  lack  of  rule;  or  (4)  actual  conditions  of  trade. 

The  complainant  presenting  one  of  the  last  three  types 
of  complaint  should  be  made  to  understand  that  his  case 
involves  no  redress  of  wrong  and,  therefore,  cannot  be 
settled  judicially.  Such  a  complaint  should  be  reshaped 
as  a  suggestion  for  improvement  and  introduced  before 
a  competent  committee  for  constructive  action.  Through 

153 


154  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

such  a  treatment,  many  grievances  will  lose  their  bitter- 
ness and  lead  to  a  definite  goal ;  that  is  to  say,  to  progres- 
sive life,  upon  which  an  agreement  in  principle  already 
exists.  Thus,  after  the  question  of  wages  is  settled 
through  collective  bargaining,  the  number  of  controver- 
sial matters  to  be  settled  judicially  may  be  greatly  re- 
duced. 

As  to  its  origin,  a  complaint  may  be  personal,  even 
though  it  may  be  repeated  by  several  persons.  It  may  be 
collective,  when  it  emanates  from  a  particular  division  of 
the  plant  or  from  a  specific  group  of  people  and  when 
it  comes  from  a  majority  of  the  personnel. 

This  classification  of  complaints  suggests  a  different 
treatment  for  each  case.  Indeed,  a  personal  complaint 
can  be  settled  quickly  by  a  small  local  committee  if  pro- 
vision is  made  for  appeal,  first,  to  a  small  arbitration 
board;  and,  second,  in  complicated  cases,  to  the  general 
manager. 

A  collective  case  requires  more  than  integrity;  it  re- 
quires the  weight  of  the  opinion  of  other  groups.  At 
first,  it  may  be  judged  by  a  board  of  local  committees; 
and,  in  appeal,  by  a  board  composed  of  the  Works  Coun- 
cil minus  the  complainants.  If  their  decision  is  a  tie, 
the  matter  may  be  referred  to  the  general  manager  or 
to  the  president.  The  idea  is  to  train  the  different  groups 
to  check  each  other  as  much  as  possible. 

A  complaint  which  involves  the  majority  of  the  per- 
sonnel may  be  studied  and  pleaded  inside  the  plant;  but, 
if  it  cannot  be  settled,  it  must  be  referred  to  an  outside 
power  such  as  the  National  Labor  Board  or  to  arbitrators 
or  to  a  joint  industrial  council. 

An  example  of  simple  arbitration  is  the  method  in 
force  at  the  William  Filene's  Sons'  Company,  in  Boston, 


Mass.,  where  an  Arbitration  Board  is  all  powerful  in  dis- 
charging, fining,  or  otherwise  disciplining  the  employees 
of  the  store  r1 

If  an  employee  feels  that  he  or  she  has  been  unjustly 
discharged  or  fined,  the  case  is  brought  to  the  Arbitration 
Board,  which  is  composed  entirely  of  employees  duly 
elected  by  the  cooperative  association.  The  case  is  tried  as 
in  a  Court,  both  sides  being  heard  either  in  person  or  repre- 
sented by  some  one  acting  in  his  or  her  place.  The  decision 
of  this  board  is  final :  neither  side  can  appeal  from  it. 

This  plan  has  been  in  existence  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  the  Arbitration  Board  has  tried  many  cases.  The 
decisions  are  considered  satisfactory  by  the  firm,  even 
though  they  seem  to  be  about  equally  divided  in  placing  the 
blame.  A  large  number  of  the  decisions  were  reviewed 
some  time  ago  by  the  well-known  jurist,  Judge  Brandeis, 
and  pronounced  as  fair  and  as  equitable  for  all  concerned 
as  the  decisions  of  the  average  court  of  the  country.  This 
indicates  clearly  that  the  decisions  do  not  unduly  favor  the 
employee.  It  also  shows  what  has  been  shown  in  similar 
cases — that  imposing  responsibility  on  any  one  of  average 
intelligence  makes  him  more  careful  in  his  judgment  and 
prevents  extreme  radicalism  more  effectually  than  anything 
else. 

The  capital  point  is  to  get  quick  settlement  of  com- 
plaints, lest  the  enervation  caused  by  anxious  expectation 
create  greater  discontent  than  the  offense  itself.  If  the 
man  at  the  top  is  within  the  reach  of  any  one  at  any  time, 
the  number  of  difficult  cases  may  become  very  small.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  that  the  appeal  to  the  chief  executive 
is  seldom  resorted  to;  the  possibility  of  his  interference 
is  generally  sufficient  to  maintain  order  and  confidence. 

68.  Labor's  Responsibility. — The  new  idea  is  to 
introduce  the  principle  of  self-government  in  industry.  In 

1  American  Machinist,  August  I,  1918. 


156  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

government,  freedom  from  restriction  has  been  granted  by 
decrees,  but  it  is  mere  liberation  and  is  only  negative  free- 
dom. Positive  freedom  is  that  of  expression.  Such  free- 
dom cannot  be  granted;  it  must  develop  gradually  and 
its  development  is  a  part  of  the  real  business  of  living. 
The  new  freedom  in  industry  is  self-expression  in  co- 
operation; it  implies  responsibility  for  acting  conscien- 
tiously toward  others  as  well  as  for  regarding  the  conse- 
quences of  our  own  actions.  We  learn  by  our  mistakes, 
but,  in  industry,  mistakes  are  expensive.  Consequently, 
the  employer,  who  must  pay  for  the  mistakes  of  labor 
as  a  party  in  management,  should  be  properly  protected. 
Here  is  another  difference  between  industry  and  politics. 
New  rights  imply  new  duties ;  the  problem  is  to  distribute 
rights  as  well  as  duties  to  those  to  whom  they  belong 
and  avoid  destructive  tendencies.  It  is  important  to 
remember  that  the  responsibility  of  labor  is  mainly 
moral,  the  financial  responsibility,  on  the  other  hand, 
rests  with  the  employer,  who  must  have  a  chance  to  ex- 
press himself  accordingly. 

69.  Employer's  Responsibility. — The  success  and 
expansion  of  business  depends  primarily  on  management. 
It  clearly  follows  that  employers  must  be  unmolested  and 
unhampered  in  determining  the  amount  and  quality  of 
their  products  and  must  bear  the  responsibility  for  the 
manufacturing  process.  This  is  the  fundamental  condi- 
tion of  the  successful  conduct  of  business.  The  managers 
of  industrial  establishments  must  be  protected  in  their 
right  to  operate  their  plant  according  to  the  technique 
of  their  trade  and  according  to  legal  regulation.  Indus- 
trial conditions  demand  free  exercise  of  individual  judg- 
ment and  initiative,  without  which  there  would  be  little, 
if  any,  incentive  to  engage  in  business  enterprise.  They 


FUNCTIONS  OF  COMMITTEES  157 

demand,  therefore,  a  frank  recognition  of  the  province 
of  management. 

We  cannot  consider  industry  from  the  point  of  view 
of  run-down  workshops.  The  large  modern  enterprise 
attains  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  It  is  primarily  in- 
itiated by  an  entrepreneur,  aided  by  an  engineering  staff. 
Until  the  plant  is  ready  to  operate,  there  is  no  personnel 
to  consult;  consequently,  it  is  designed  according  to  the 
best  judgment  of  technical  experts.  Since  to  do  this 
takes  all  the  ability  and  attention  of  a  considerable  staff 
of  highly  trained  and  experienced  engineers,  it  is  abso- 
lutely impossible  to  assume  that  laborers  can  have  a  voice 
in  determining  the  actual  method  of  manufacture.  Such 
interference  would  mean  the  end  of  engineering  to  which 
we  owe  the  whole  of  our  industrial  attainments.  The  dif- 
ference between  former  and  present  attainments  is  ef- 
fected by  the  difference  between  true  engineering  and 
common  sense.  Now  this  does  not  mean  that  labor 
should  not  have  a  voice  as  to  its  relation  to  these  methods, 
to  which  it  must  adapt  itself.  Speaking  of  industry  in 
general,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  exactly  the  part 
of  labor  in  management.  There  is  no  common  policy 
which  can  apply  indifferently  to  steel  mills,  shoemaking, 
textile  factories,  and  machine  shops.  For  example,  in  a 
steel  mill,  labor  is  interested  in  having  a  charging  machine 
and  door-opening  devices  at  the  furnaces,  but  it  cannot 
expect  to  have  a  voice  in  determining  the  type  of  furnace 
or  the  operation  to.  be  performed  in  it.  This  must  re- 
main the  unquestioned  province  of  the  management,  be- 
cause it  is  alone  responsible  and  competent. 

70.  Leadership. — The  opinion  of  the  people  is  not 
necessarily  right  because  it  is  collective.  The  truth  of 
such  opinion  must  be  scrutinized  as  to  whether  it  does  or 


158  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

does  not  lead  to  real  progress.  Self-government  is  not 
the  willful,  capricious  determination  of  certain  people  to 
assert  themselves  and  choose  their  way  of  working  and 
living.  Rather  it  is  the  free  adherence  of  people  to  poli- 
cies which,  rightly  followed,  will  advance  human  prog- 
ress. This  is  the  test  of  self-government. 

Leadership,  based  on  authority,  has  gone  forever.  This 
destructive  leadership  which  looked  upon  work  as  the  aim 
of  life,  even  at  the  price  of  human  life,  is  doomed.  But 
this  does  not  mean  suppression  of  leadership,  for  the 
mass  has  never  made  progress.  Indeed,  it  is  not  the 
laborer  who  designed  machinery  which  magnified  human 
power  a  thousandfold.  The  valuable  contribution  of 
the  laborer  in  improving  details  does  not  impair  the 
truth  of  this  statement.  It  is  not  the  laborer  who  organ- 
izes large  enterprises.  It  is  not  the  laborer  who  furnishes 
great  examples  of  progress,  such  as  making  the  Panama 
Zone  sanitary;  and,  except  in  cases  of  gross  negligence, 
it  is  not  the  laborer  who  sees  the  danger  to  which  he  is 
exposed.  Our  era  of  cooperation  needs  leadership  more 
than  ever;  but  the  leadership  of  to-day  is  based  on  su- 
periority. It  is  a  constructive  leadership  that  supports, 
guides,  and  inspires;  that  increases  the  powers  of  man; 
that  interprets  human  aspirations  and  points  the  way  to- 
ward progress.  A  mere  agglomeration  of  men  decreases 
the  value  of  individuals;  whereas,  under  proper  leader- 
ship, the  individuals,  composing  a  collectivity,  can  accom- 
plish more  than  the  same  individuals  can  separately.  Ani- 
mated by  the  spirit  of  the  leader,  they  share  his  superior- 
ity. 

The  elite  from  among  which  leaders  may  be  recruited 
is  small.  Although  superior  men  are  found  in  all  classes 
of  society,  it  is  evident  that  the  untrained  man  must 


FUNCTIONS  OF  COMMITTEES  159 

first  be  well  informed  before  being  able  to  direct  others 
in  the  intricacies  of  modern  business.  Leaders  will  ap- 
pear from  the  rank  and  file,  but  their  influence  must  be 
limited  to  restricted  groups  and  to  special  lines.  They 
themselves  must  be  inspired  and  led  by  a  higher  coordi- 
nating leadership  upon  which  all  activities  of  a  given  in- 
dustry depend.  The  higher  ideals  and  the  coordination 
of  specialized  efforts  in  large-scale  industry  is  far  beyond 
the  scope  of  workpeople.  That  is  why  the  idea  of  self- 
government  springing  from  the  bottom  of  society  is 
Utopian.  Such  self-government  would  deteriorate  indus- 
try. This  idea  arises  from  sheer  belief,  based  on  super- 
ficial observation  of  particular  cases.  Workingmen  some- 
times become  captains  of  industry,  but  only  if  they  have 
educated  themselves. 

71.  Differentiation  of  Interests. — The  many  dif- 
ferentx  interests  connected  with  the  business  of  produc- 
tion, with  bargaining  for  wages,  with  works  legislation, 
with  adjustment  of  grievances,  with  welfare  works,  and 
with  social  institutions  distribute  differently  responsi- 
bility, leadership,  and  power  and  suggest  that  a  particular 
treatment  should  be  applied  to  each  of  these  activities.  It 
seems  that  the  secret  of  success  in  cooperative  manage- 
ment consists  in  drawing  a  multiple  constitution  with 
special  provisions  governing  each  interest  and  defining 
the  powers  and  procedure  proper  to  each  interest.  Uni- 
form treatment  of  all  questions  is  likely  to  cause  ineffi- 
ciency, confusion,  and  abuses ;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that, 
in  the  long  run,  the  representative  body  degenerates  into 
something  quite  different  from  its  initial  purpose.  Re- 
member that  French  syndicalism  started  as  an  employ- 
ment bureau. 

Even  the  right  spirit  of  cooperation  does  not  free 


160  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

people  from  the  bias  of  their  immediate  interests;  so,  or- 
ganization should  be  devised  in  order  to  check  and  bal- 
ance the  powers  of  every  group,  according  to  respective 
rights  and  duties  of  those  groups.  Thus,  we  are  led  to 
the  following  classification  of  interests  and  organizations : 
some  are  local;  others  are  industry-wide. 
/.  Local  Interests: 

1.  The  Business  Organization  creates  between  man- 

agement and  labor  a  point  of  contact  for  impart- 
ing the  right  conception  of  business  and  getting 
the  point  of  view  of  each,  in  order  to  promote 
reciprocal  good  will.  It  offers  to  labor  an  oppor- 
tunity to  cooperate  in  production  by  mere  recom- 
mendations. 

2.  The  Economic  Organization  is  the  bargaining  body 

which  decides  the  ultimate  clash  of  financial  in- 
terests. In  bargaining,  employer  and  employees 
have  equal  power. 

3.  The  Works  Rule  Organization  legislates  and  stand- 

ardizes the  shop  rules.  Although  the  powers  may 
be  made  equal,  greater  initiative  and  discretion 
might  be  left  to  labor  in  these  matters. 

4.  The  Judicial  Organization  adjusts  real  grievances. 

Its  procedure  and  powers  are  adapted  to  the  types 
of  complainants,  such  as  persons  or  groups. 
//.  Industrial  Interests : 

5.  The    Welfare    Organization    studies    the    welfare 

works  which  interest  equally  all  the  establishments 
of  the  same  trade.  In  this  field,  experts  lead  and 
the  resolutions  of  the  committees  are  mere  recom- 
mendations, since  they  generally  involve  invest- 
ment which  needs  the  approbation  of  the  Board 
of  Directors. 


FUNCTIONS  OF  COMMITTEES  161 

6.  The  Socio-Industrial  Institutions  may  be  more  or 

less   autonomous   according  to  the  interests  in- 
volved. 

7.  The  Social  Union,  for  recreation,  education,  and 

mutual  assistance,  must  be  absolutely  autonomous. 

72.  Constitution. — At  the  present  stage  of  develop- 
ment of  committee  management,  the  constitution  of  labor 
representation  cannot  be  standardized.  It  must  be  a 
particular  arrangement  devised  for  each  concern  accord- 
ing to  the  kind  of  industry,  the  number  of  employees,  the 
number  of  plants,  the  kind  of  people  employed,  their  ac- 
tual attitude,  and  other  particular  conditions. 

The  constitution  comprises  six  parts  as  follows: 

1.  The  object,  which  is  the  organization  of  a  system 
of  proportional  representation  in  order  to  establish  a  re- 
lationship of  justice  between  employer  and  employees  and 
to  promote  common  welfare  and  progress  through  co- 
operation with  good  will 

2.  A  description,  with  a  chart  of  the  different  bodies 
of  the  organization  showing  their  composition,  their  re- 
lations, and  their  attributes.     This  part  defines  the  dis- 
tricting of  the  works,  and  the  number  of  representatives, 
which  varies  from  one  for  25  to  one  for  300,  in  order 
to  keep,  whenever  possible,  the  number  of  workers'  rep- 
resentatives below  loo. 

3.  A  code  of  terms,  qualifications,  and  procedure  for 
the  nomination  and  election  of  representatives. 

4.  A  code  of  procedure  for  the  conduct  of  the  work  of 
the  representative  bodies,  showing  clearly  the  difference 
of  authority  pertaining  to  each  group  of  interests,  that  is 
to  say: 

(a)  The  advisory  power  of  the  business  organiza- 
tion. 


162  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 


The  bargaining  power  of  the  economic  organiza- 
tion. 

(c  )  The  legislative  power  of  the  works  rule  organiza- 
tion. 

(rf)  The  judicial  power  of  the  boards  of  arbitration. 

(?)  The  cooperation  in  welfare  institutions. 

(/)  The  autonomy  of  the  social  union. 
The  distribution  of  powers  to  each  group  of  interests 
may  be  impressed  and  maintained  among  the  Works 
Council  not  only  by  different  procedures,  but  also  by  a 
difference  in  the  physical  arrangement  of  the  meetings. 
The  meetings  of  the  councils  may  be  held  in  different 
rooms,  or  may  provide  a  different  sitting  arrangement 
and  have  a  different  chairman,  according  to  the  kind  of 
interest  dealt  with.  Such  a  method,  particularly  in  large 
organizations,  can  help  to  maintain  the  proportion  of  the 
powers  attached  to  each  representative  function  and  pre- 
vent the  debates  from  deviating  from  their  initial  purpose. 

5.  A  code  of  principles  and  policies,  governing  the  re- 
lations between  the  management  and  employees  and  guar- 
anteeing the  free  speech  of  the  representatives,  and  the 
protection  of  the  employees  against  any  discrimination 
because  of  race,  or  sex  or  membership  in  any  religious 
body  or  labor  organization.     An  oath  of  office  may  be 
administered. 

6.  A  provision  for  the  amendment  and  even  for  the 
termination  of  the  plan. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

COMMITTEE  ORGANIZATION 

73.  Proportional  Representation. — Cooperation  in 
management  demands,  first  of  all,  proportional  repre- 
sentation of  all  interests  involved  in  industry.  Adequate 
representation  of  management  is  as  necessary  as  adequate 
representation  of  labor.  The  management  must  reor- 
ganize itself  and  create  new  functions  in  order  to  deal 
with  the  organization  of  workers.  The  qualification  of 
representatives  is  a  direct  knowledge  of  the  work  and 
of  the  particular  matters  in  which  they  are  in  charge.  Be- 
sides, the  management  representatives  must  possess  a 
large  share  of  tact  and  discretion,  together  with  ready 
willingness  to  "play  the  game"  in  accordance  with  the 
new  rule.  Proportional  representation  of  the  interests  of 
the  management  is  secured  not  so  much  by  the  choice  of 
its  representatives  as  by  the  powers  attached  to  their 
functions  outlined  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Proportional  representation  of  the  many  interests  of 
labor  is  a  very  delicate  question.  W.  L.  Stoddard,  who 
has  studied  it  with  much  detail,  says  i1 

The  districting  of  a  plant  brings  to  a  head  and  focus  all 
the  most  vital  problems  in  shop-committee  government.  A 
perfect  basis  of  representation  is  probably  an  unattainable 
ideal.  But  a  satisfactory  basis  of  representation  can  be 
reached  if  the  joint  committee  comes  to  the  task  in  the  right 

11  W.  L.  Stoddard,  The  Shop  Committee. 

163 


164  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

spirit  and  takes  as  its  guide  the  principles  which  have  been 
worked  out  in  the  laboratory  of  experience,  remembering 
always  that,  like  any  system  of  government,  a  shop-com- 
mittee system  is  subject  to  change  and  needed  revision. 

The  essential  body  for  full  cooperation  in  management 
consists  of  a  Works  Council  composed  of  equal  numbers 
of  representatives  elected  by  employees  and  of  representa- 
tives appointed  by  the  management.  Besides,  a  Social 
Council  should  be  elected  by  all  without  distinction. 

The  size  of  the  Works  Council,  as  well  as  its  many 
assumed  functions  of  councilors,  bargainers,  legislators, 
spokesmen,  propagandists,  and  judges,  would  render  its 
work  very  inefficient  if  it  had  to  treat  all  questions  in  full 
sessions.  It  is  more  efficient  and  practical  to  transact 
business  through  small  committees  appointed  from  their 
number  by  the  representatives.  The  functions  of  such 
committees  are  to  specialize  in  the  various  questions  of 
management,  to  investigate  the  facts,  to  study  the  prob- 
lems laid  before  them,  and  to  present  to  the  attention  of 
the  Council  perfectly  digested  reports  with  recommenda- 
tion. Such  a  procedure  develops  high  ability,  while  it 
corrects  the  influence  of  the  possible  bias  of  the  special- 
ists' type  of  mind  and  secures  prevalence  of  reason  over 
sentiment. 

An  organization  of  committees,  developed  to  cover  the 
different  lines  of  cooperation  in  the  management  of  a 
typical  industry,  is  given  in  the  following  section.  The 
object  of  this  presentation  is  merely  to  show  how  the 
principle  of  proportional  representation  can  be  applied 
by  delegating  different  powers  to  different  committees. 
It  is  clear  that  every  concern  must  be  organized  accord- 
ing to  its  particular  conditions  and  requirements.  The 
number,  the  composition,  and  the  attributes  of  the  com- 


COMMITTEE  ORGANIZATION  165 

mittees  vary  to  suit  the  management  and  the  personnel. 

In  spite  of  their  leadership,  the  president  and  general 
manager  do  not  sit  on  the  committees,  except  on  the  con- 
ference and  bargaining  committees,  because  they  should 
keep  the  broadest  point  of  view  in  order  to  coordinate 
the  various  tendencies  of  the  specialists. 

In  his  capacity  of  spiritual  organizer,  the  director  of 
the  personnel  has  a  place  in  many  committees ;  moreover, 
he  has  to  see  that  the  proper  attention  is  given  to  every 
question  interesting  the  personnel.  The  other  representa- 
tives of  the  management  are  suggested  as  mere  examples 
of  competency. 

The  councils  and  committees  elect  their  chairman  from 
their  number.  The  secretary  to  the  Works  Council  and 
to  committees  may  be  appointed  by  the  management, 
since  he  has  no  voting  or  executive  powers.  His  func- 
tions are:  (i)  to  record  the  minutes  of  deliberation  in 
suitable  forms;  (2)  to  convey  the  records  to  the  council 
or  to  the  proper  officer  for  execution;  (3)  to  file  the 
records  in  order  to  make  available  a  code  of  precedents; 
(4)  to  direct  and  record  investigations;  (5)  to  coordi- 
nate the  work  of  the  various  committees;  and  (6)  to  ad- 
vise and  educate  the  committeemen  in  the  procedure  and 
interpretation  of  the  rules  and,  by  using  tact  and  discre- 
tion, to  modify  an  unreasonable  request  into  one  more 
likely  to  meet  the  management's  approval. 

An  honest  and  frank  personality  can  do  much  to  dispel 
the  suspicion  of  the  workpeople  and  to  educate  the  com- 
mitteemen to  take  broader  views.  In  a  large  organiza- 
tion, such  function  may  depend  upon  a  special  Depart- 
ment of  Industrial  Relations,  headed  by  the  director  of 
the  personnel. 

The  spirit  of  the  representative  system  should  be  en- 


166  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

tirely  democratic;  there  should  be  the  initiative,  the  ref- 
erendum, and  the  recall.  The  records  of  all  committees 
and  councils  should  be  open  to  every  employee  desiring 
to  consult  them.  Moreover,  special  notice  of  the  activi- 
ties of  the  committees  and  councils  should  be  posted  on 
the  billboard  or  given  in  the  home  paper,  in  order  to 
keep  alive  the  interest  of  the  workpeople. 

The  worker  representatives  should  have  the  right  to 
meet  by  themselves  as  well  as  jointly  with  the  manage- 
ment. 

The  suggestion  system  is  the  means  by  which  the  em- 
ployees bring  to  the  attention  of  the  committees  the  mat- 
ters they  desire  to  have  discussed.  These  matters  should 
be  put  down  in  writing  and  signed  by  the  writer.  The 
suggestion  system  is  a  vital  factor  in  the  successful 
operation  of  the  committee  system. 

74.  Committee  Organization. — Following  is  an  out- 
line of  committee  organization  for  cooperative  man- 
agement in  a  typical  industry: 

I.  SHOP  COMMITTEES  ON  LOCAL  INTERESTS 

A.  Business  Organization 
i.    COMMITTEE  ON  PROMOTION 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives;  eventually 
five  management  representatives. 

Objects. — i.  To  study  the  plan  of  representation  and 
recommend  a  formula  of  constitution  to  the  Works  Council. 

2.  To  make  and  develop  the  electoral  division  of  the 
works. 

3.  To  conduct  elections. 

4.  To  recommend  the  establishment  of  new  committees 
and  determine  their  attributes  and  sizes. 

5.  To  coordinate  the  work  of  the  various  committees. 

6.  To  arrange  the  time  and  place  of  meetings. 


COMMITTEE  ORGANIZATION  167 

7.  To  settle  standard  procedure  and  methods  of  arriving 
at  decisions. 

8.  To  settle  standard  methods  of  investigating  cases. 

9.  To  determine  how  to  make  and  keep  the  records  of 
meetings. 

10.  To    determine    the    compensation    for    committee 
service. 

n.  To  supervise  the  functions  of  the  representative 
bodies  and  hear  of  their  deficiency. 

2.    CONFERENCE  COMMITTEE 
(Possibly  with  sub-committees.) 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives ;  general  man- 
ager, sales  manager,  director  of  production,  director  of 
personnel,  cost  accountant. 

Function. — Educational  and  advisory;  point  of  contact 
between  manager  and  employees. 

Objects. — i.  To  impart  the  point  of  view  of  the  manage- 
ment and  get  the  point  of  view  of  labor  in  order  to  arrive  at 
agreement  about  business  policies  regarding  questions  like 
the  following: 

(a)  Necessity  for  increasing  or  decreasing  production. 

(b)  Reasons    why   the    methods,   the   product,    or   the 
quality  should  be  changed. 

(c)  Establishment  of  new  departments  or  the  reorgan- 
ization of  existing  departments. 

(J)  Sales  cooperation. 

(?)  How  changes  may  be  carried  out  with  the  least 
trouble  for  those  involved  and  to  correlate  tenure  of  em- 
ployment with  trade  prospects. 

2.  As  to  its  educational  function,  this  committee  can 
explain  matters  as : 

(a)  The  economic  significance  of  investment,  cost,  out- 
put, burden,  profit,  bad  work,  efficiency,  etc. 

(&)  The  market  conditions,  the  commercial  difficulties, 
the  margin  of  profits,  the  requirements  of  customers,  and 
statistics  of  business. 

(c)  The  accomplishment  of  the  technical,  sales,  purchas- 
ing, and  financial  departments  in  relation  to  production. 


168  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

3.    SUGGESTION  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Three  worker  representatives;  three  man- 
agement representatives. 

Object. — To  receive  all  suggestions,  make  a  preliminary 
examination  and  direct  to  special  committees  those  which 
seem  valuable.  Eventually  to  modify  crude  suggestions  into 
shape  suitable  for  consideration. 

4.    OCCUPATIONAL  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  trade.) 

Composition. — Three  worker  representatives  of  a  given 
trade;  foreman,  director  of  operation,  director  of  personnel. 

Power. — Advisory. 

Objects. — i.  To  impart  ideals  of  operation,  present  the 
manufacturing  problems  which  confront  the  management, 
and  concentrate  the  attention  of  the  workers  upon  par- 
ticular questions. 

2.  To   standardize   methods,   equipment,    conditions   of 
operations,  and  specialization. 

3.  To  examine  suggestions  on  operations  and  equipment, 
to  order  designs  and  experiments,  take  patents,  and  reward 
the  promoters  of  valuable  ideas. 

4.  To  study  the  prevention  of  spoiled  work. 

5.   SCIENTIFIC  MANAGEMENT  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  division.) 

Composition. — Director  of  production,  efficiency  engi- 
neer, superintendent,  foreman,  director  of  personnel;  five 
worker  representatives. 

Object. — To  promote  and  develop  scientific  management. 

6.   MATERIAL  EFFICIENCY  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  trade.) 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives ;  director  of 
personnel,  efficiency  engineer,  storeskeeper,  cost  accountant, 
purchasing  agent.  (In  many  cases  three  representatives  of 
each  side  will  be  sufficient.) 


COMMITTEE  ORGANIZATION  169 

Objects. — i.  To  study  the  elimination  of  waste  in  ma- 
terial. 

2.  To  study  methods  of  distribution  and  preservation  of 
material. 

3.  To  determine  standard  and  actual  consumptions. 

4.  To  determine  the  method  of  ascertaining  the  saving. 

5.  To  determine  premiums  on  savings. 

B.  Economic  Organisation 

7.   INVESTIGATION  COMMITTEE  ON  EXTERNAL 
ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS 

Composition. — Three  worker  representatives;  director  of 
personnel,  sales  manager,  industrial  engineer. 

Object. — To  investigate  cost  of  living,  local  and  national 
scales  of  wages,  conditions  of  the  labor  market,  and  trade 
prospects.  To  keep  in  touch  with  outside  similar  organiza- 
tions. 

8.    GRADING  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  trade.) 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives;  director  of 
personnel,  efficiency  engineer,  director  of  operations,  and 
two  foremen. 

Objects. — i.  To  designate  each  occupation  by  a  standard 
name. 

2.  To  determine  the  qualifications  required  by  each  occu- 
pation. 

3.  To  specify  and  differentiate  the  various  grades  of 
workers. 

4.  To  determine  the  methods  of  selection  of  employees. 

9.   HOURS  AND  WAGES  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives ;  general  man- 
ager, director  of  personnel,  industrial  engineer,  cost  ac- 
countant, and  foreman. 

Objects. — i.  To  determine  the  total  number  of  weekly 
hours. 

2.  To  bargain  and  readjust  standard  wages  for  a  given 
period. 


170  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

3.  To  report  to  the  Works  Council  for  ratification  of  its 
recommendations.  Further  references  may  be  provided  to 
settle  disagreements. 

10.    PIECE  AND  BONUS  RATING  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  trade.) 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives ;  superintend- 
ent, director  of  operations,  director  of  personnel,  efficiency 
engineer,  foreman. 

Object. — To  determine  or  change  the  conditions  of  opera- 
tions and  corresponding  rates  and  fix  the  date  when  agree- 
ments terminate.  Its  resolutions  are  subject  to  ratification 
by  the  Works  Council. 

11.  STANDARDS  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  trade.) 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives;  director  of 
personnel,  efficiency  engineer,  director  of  operations,  time- 
study  man,  foreman. 

Object. — To  standardize  the  methods  of  rating  and  con- 
ditions of  operations. 

12.  SUPERVISION  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Five  worker  representatives ;  cost  account- 
ant, financial  manager,  legal  councilor,  industrial  engineer, 
director  of  personnel. 

Objects. — i.  To  determine  the  method  for  arriving  at  the 
factory  efficiency  in  case  of  economy  sharing  or  collective 
bonus. 

2.  To  see  that  savings  are  shared  according  to  the  rule. 

3.  To  see  that  the  laws  of  the  State  and  the  rules  voted 
by  the  Works  Council  are  lived  up  to. 

C.  Works  Rules  Organization 

The  committees  of  this  series  may  be  composed,  in  reg- 
ular meetings,  of  worker  representatives  only;  but  they 
should  be  called  frequently,  either  separately  or  in  general 


COMMITTEE  ORGANIZATION  171 

session,  by  the  general  manager  to  impart  his  inspiration 
and  guidance  and  keep  himself  in  touch  with  his  organiza- 
tion for  his  own  inspiration  and  guidance. 

13.    TIME  COMMITTEE 

Objects. — To  determine: 

1.  Starting  and  stopping  time,  meal  hours,  pause,  over- 
time. 

2.  Night  work,  arrangement  of  shifts. 

3.  Vacations  and  holidays. 

4.  Time-booking  arrangements. 

5.  Arrangement  of  transportation  facilities. 

14.    EMPLOYMENT  COMMITTEE 

Object. — To  determine  the  methods  and  conditions  of 
hiring,  discharging,  suspension,  leave  of  absence,  transfer, 
and  promotion. 

15.    DISCIPLINE  COMMITTEE 

Object. — To  draw  shop  rules  and  supervise  the  main- 
tenance of  discipline,  time-keeping,  tidiness,  cleanliness, 
smoking,  and  high  standards  of  behavior. 

16.    SHOP  COMFORT  COMMITTEE 

Object. — To  supervise  the  services  of  heat,  light,  ventila- 
tion, drinking  water,  washing  accommodations,  drying 
clothes,  and  make  provision  for  seats,  shelters,  etc. 

17.   DINING  ROOM  COMMITTEE 

Objects. — I.  Arrangement  and  supervision  of  dining 
room. 

2.  Provision  for  food  supply. 

3.  Regulation  of  prices. 

4.  Suggestions  about  service. 

18.  GRADES'  INTEREST  COMMITTEES 

In  order  to  complete  a  proportional  representation  a 
series  of  committees  should  represent  respectively  the  dif- 


172  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ferent  grades  of  workers,  such  as  laborers,  apprentices, 
semi-skilled,  skilled,  and  women,  irrespective  of  occupa- 
tions. 

Object. — To  formulate  collective  grievances  and  ideals 
for  group  development. 

II.  SHOP  COMMITTEES  ON  INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING 

A.  Welfare  Organization 
19.    DEVELOPMENT  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Industrial  engineer,  construction  engineer, 
safety  engineer,  production  director,  hygienist ;  five  worker 
representatives. 

Object. — To  make  recommendations  about  the  develop- 
ment of  working  conditions  of  the  trade. 

20.     SAFETY  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Safety  engineer,  industrial  engineer,  con- 
struction engineer,  director  of  personnel,  legal  councilor; 
five  worker  representatives. 

Objects. — i.    To  study  safety  devices. 

2.  To  elaborate  safety  rules  and  instructions. 

3.  To  promote  education  for  safety. 

4.  To  promote  safety  standards. 

5.  To    investigate    accidents,    place    responsibility,    and 
make  recommendations. 

21.    HYGIENE  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Hygienist,  physiologist,  industrial  engi- 
neer, efficiency  engineer,  director  of  personnel;  five  worker 
representatives. 

Objects. — i.  To  install  and  supervise  the  department  of 
health  and  sanitation. 

2.  To  conduct  researches  about  hygienic  conditions  and 
prevention  of  occupational  diseases  and  poisoning. 

3.  To  disseminate  information  about  hygiene. 

4.  To  study  the  effects  of  fatigue  and  draw  conclusions, 


COMMITTEE  ORGANIZATION  173 

and  to  determine  the  physiological  requirements  of  occupa- 
tions. 

22.     SECURITY  OF  EMPLOYMENT  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Industrial  engineer,  director  of  personnel, 
employment  manager;  three  worker  representatives. 

Object. — To  study  the  stabilization  of  the  labor  market. 

23.    BETTERMENT  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Industrial  engineer,  construction  engineer, 
physician,  director  of  personnel,  superintendent  of  the 
building;  five  worker  representatives. 

Object. — To  install  and  develop  betterment  works,  as 
lavatory,  lockers,  rest  room,  emergency  room,  hospital, 
lunch  room,  club  room,  library,  and  like  appropriations  for 
comfort  and  hygiene. 

24.   STATISTICS  AND  PUBLICITY  COMMITTEE 

Composition. — Industrial  engineer,  cost  accountant,  doc- 
tor hygienist,  safety  engineer,  director  of  personnel;  five 
worker  representatives. 

Object. — To  study  comparatively  the  conditions  of  work 
and  publish  the  results  of  improvements. 

B.  Socio-Industrial  Institutions 

25.   INSURANCE  ORGANIZATION 

Under  the  leadership  of  the  financial  manager  and  the 
legal  councilor. 

1.  Sickness  and  Death  Benefit  Committee. — Five  worker 
representatives. 

2.  Old-Age   Pension    Committee. — Five    worker    repre- 
sentatives. 

3.  Accident  and  Life  Insurance  Committee. — Five  work- 
er representatives. 

26.   EDUCATIONAL  WORK 
Under  the  leadership  of  the  director  of  education,  the 


174  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

director  of  personnel,  the  director  of  operations,  and  the 
industrial  engineer. 

1.  Vocational  Guidance  Committee. — Three  worker  rep- 
resentatives. 

2.  Apprenticeship  Committee. — Three  worker  representa- 
tives. 

3.  Trade  Technique  Committee. — Three  worker  repre- 
sentatives. 

4.  Library  Committee. — Three  worker  representatives. 

27.   HOUSING  COMMITTEE 

In  out  of  town  places,  the  company  may  have  to  partici- 
pate directly  in  social  works,  in  which  its  financial  manager 
and  directors  will  find  opportunity  for  leadership  and 
investment.  The  financial  policy  of  the  company  will  deter- 
mine the  composition  of  this  committee. 

III.  SOCIAL  UNION 

This  organization  should  be  managed  by  a  Social  Council 
elected  by  all  grades  of  office  and  shop  people  of  both  sexes 
without  distinction. 

28.    RECREATION  COMMITTEES 
(One  for  each  activity.) 

Object. — To  organize  clubs,  musical  societies,  sports,  out- 
ings, and  other  social  events. 

29.   COOPERATIVE  STORE  COMMITTEE 

Object. — To  promote  the  organization  of  cooperative 
societies  by  furnishing  information  and  encouragement. 

30.    COST  OF  LIVING  COMMITTEE 

Object. — To  study  the  market  conditions,  the  reasons  for 
the  high  cost  of  commodities  and  to  propose  measures  for 
improvement. 

31.   EDUCATIONAL  COMMITTEE 

Object. — To  promote  and  supervise  schools,  domestic- 
science  courses,  and  courses  in  Americanization. 


PART  III 
ELEMENTS  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  COLLECTIVITY  VS.  THE  INDIVIDUAL 

75.  Introduction. — I  know  of  an  employer  of  the 
old  school  who  had  formed,  during  his  long  career,  a 
large  body  of  employees  whom  he  thought  perfectly  loyal 
and  contented.  His  methods  were  evolved  out  of  his  fan- 
cied deep  knowledge  of  the  feelings,  needs,  and  characters 
of  his  men.  But  once  he  had  a  very  great  disappointment. 
Contrary  to  his  custom,  he  went  into  a  room  separated 
from  another  by  a  thin,  board  partition,  so  that  through 
it  conversation  could  be  distinctly  heard.  He  heard  work- 
ers violently  criticizing  his  policies,  and  in  a  burst  of 
anger  one  said,  with  general  approval,  ''The  only  thing 
he  deserves  is  that  we  should  set  his  shop  on  fire." 

The  employer  wanted  to  protect  himself  against  such 
a  menace  and  decided  to  discharge  the  offenders,  who,  he 
thought,  must  be  new  recruits.  He  was  not  a  little  sur- 
prised to  recognize  two  of  his  oldest  men,  who  had  been 
in  his  service  for  about  twenty  years.  A  seemingly  peace- 
ful personnel  was  full  of  hidden  discontent  which  the  em- 
ployer had  failed  to  discover. 

On  another  occasion,  I  was  present  at  a  meeting  of  an 
employer  and  one  of  his  employees,  at  which  the  former 
deftly  endeavored  to  convince  the  latter  of  the  fairness 
of  an  undesirable  policy.  The  worker  listened  silently 
without  showing  the  least  mark  of  approval  or  disagree- 
ment. Finally,  irritated  by  the  unresponsiveness  of  his 

i77 


178  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

auditor,  the  employer  asked  sharply:  "Why  don't  you 
say  something?"  And  he  got  this  typical  answer :  "Well, 
you  must  be  right  since  you  have  the  money.  As  for  me, 
the  only  thing  I  dare  do  is  to  maintain  the  attitude  of  re- 
spect which  I  owe  you."  Yes,  that  external  attitude  of 
respect  and  submission  is  mistaken  by  many  an  executive 
for  a  tacit  agreement  with  his  policies  and  a  confirmation 
of  his  knowledge  of  men;  while  in  reality  a  spirit  of 
criticism,  which  turns  finally  into  a  spirit  of  revolt,  is 
developing. 

The  reasons  why  workers  indulge  in  such  misrepresen- 
tations are  manifold.  First,  they  soon  learn  by  experience 
that  their  employer  is  a  better  talker,  and  it  is  of  no  use 
to  start  a  discussion  with  him.  Then,  the  slightest 
opposition  is  too  often  looked  upon  as  a  breach  of  loy- 
alty; so,  for  fear  of  punishment,  it  is  safer  to  submit. 
Each  act  of  real  or  fancied  oppression,  considered  alone, 
is  often  not  important  enough  to  justify  taking  a  chance 
and  making  trouble;  further,  the  bargaining  powers  of 
the  parties  are  too  unequal;  and,  finally,  passive  submis- 
sion has  been  the  attitude  of  the  average  man  since  the 
formation  of  society.  Consequently,  the  average  execu- 
tive knows  neither  the  character  of  his  men  nor  the  spirit 
of  his  shop,  because,  from  his  position,  he  sees  but  a 
willfully  distorted  image  of  reality.  Custom  and  daily 
necessities  have  created  insincerity,  which  is  the  cause  of 
a  great  deal  of  misunderstanding. 

Although  it  is  generally  admitted  that  there  are  agree- 
able and  reasonable  fellows  among  the  workingmen,  the 
most  misleading  conceptions  are  perhaps  formed  by  gen- 
eralizing from  dominant  features  of  certain  men  sup- 
posed to  represent  their  class.  The  image  built  up  from 
such  superficial  observations  is  but  a  caricature  in  a  nar- 


THE  COLLECTIVITY  VS.  THE  INDIVIDUAL     179 

row  frame.  In  the  handling  of  men,  such  rude  conclu- 
sions are  no  longer  permissible.  Therefore,  we  shall  pro- 
ceed to  an  elementary  study  of  psychology.  I  shall  not 
treat  individual  psychology,  however,  except  to  show 
briefly  the  influence  of  environment  upon  the  individual. 
This  discussion  is  an  application  of  collective  psychology, 
for,  indeed,  labor  constitutes  at  present  a  new  collective 
personality  which  we  must  be  able  to  handle  properly. 

76.  Personality. — The  spiritual  nature  of  man  pre- 
sents in  part  stable  traits  of  character  or  instincts  and  in 
part  variable  traits  acquired  by  experience.  We  have  to 
utilize  the  former  as  they  are;  we  can  control  the  latter. 
Man  has  been  denned  as  a  self-made,  never  finished  work 
of  art.  A  self-governing  man  acts  and  reacts  on  his 
material,  moral,  and  social  environment,  in  order  to  adapt 
it  to  himself  and  himself  to  it.  His  personality  is  con- 
stantly in  the  making. 

The  great  joy  of  life  is  the  exercise  of  the  mind's 
power  to  create  more  satisfactory  relations,  in  terms  of 
actual  or  prospective  pleasure  and  of  avoidance  of  pain. 
Every  order  of  things  has  its  origin  in  thought  and  its 
completion  in  concrete  manifestation  of  that  thought.  The 
mind  forms  ideals  of  what  may  or  should  be,  and  ex- 
presses them  by  ideas  which  are1  "the  intermediary  and 
conscious  forms  of  action  between  ideals  and  material 
conditions."  If  I  devise  a  way  to  increase  my  efficiency, 
I  change  myself  in  order  to  increase  my  power  over  my 
environment.  My  new  way  will  in  turn  influence  me  and 
suggest  other  ideas  of  larger  power  or  better  adaptation. 
This  process  is  thus  a  continual  response  to  the  demand 
for  a  reciprocal  adjustment  between  man  and  his  environ- 
ment. But,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not,  every  action, 
^ouillee,  Les  Idees-Forces. 


i8o  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

which  follows  a  responsible  decision,  changes  a  man  more 
than  it  changes  the  outside  world.  The  all  important 
thing,  therefore,  in  building  man  is  the  kind  of  decisions 
he  makes. 

Thus,  in  the  course  of  his  everyday  life,  man  builds  up 
his  personality  by  reshaping  and  coordinating  his  ideals, 
habits,  tendencies,  sentiments,  and  ideas  in  relation  to  one 
another,  in  relation  to  the  conditions  and  interests  of 
the  group  to  which  he  belongs,  and  in  relation  to  the 
social  atmosphere  in  which  he  lives.  The  influence  of  his 
environment  is  thus  a  determinant  factor  of  what  he  will 
be.  But  our  conceptions  of  things  and  our  reactions  to 
stimuli  not  only  depend  upon  our  sex  and  character,  but 
they  vary  with  age,  education,  occupation,  situation, 
place,  and  time.  Consequently,  personality  is  essentially 
a  variable  thing;  all  the  more  so  that  the  reaction  of  any 
individual  to  his  environment  is  quite  peculiar  to  him. 
This  is  why  brothers,  for  example,  who  have  the  same 
ancestry,  the  same  environment,  and  sometimes  the  same 
experience,  may  differ  altogether. 

77.  Morality. — Social  life  is  dependent  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  individual  with  respect  to  society.  Con- 
sequently, society  has  developed  certain  rules  of  conduct 
which  have  proved  to  be  beneficial  to  mankind.  Morality 
is  the  practical  conclusion  of  experience  expressed  by 
conscience;  it  represents  the  will  of  society.  Professor 
Fouillee  says : 2 

The  principle  of  morality,  therefore,  is  the  consciousness 
of  the  fact  that  a  fuller  life  for  the  individual  implies  a 
fuller  life  for  others.  The  idea  of  "others"  is  the  idea- force 
in  morality.  Duty  is  a  creation  of  our  mind  by  which  we 

'Fouillee,  La  Morale  des  Idces-Forces. 


THE  COLLECTIVITY  VS.  THE  INDIVIDUAL     181 

compel  ourselves  to  produce  the  best  within  us  and  without 
us  for  the  realization  of  the  moral  idea. 

There  is  some  tragedy  in  the  disinterested  determination 
which  compels  self-denial ;  but  there  is  no  morality  without 
abnegation  and  there  is  no  abnegation  possible  without  a 
greater  ideal,  subordinating  the  individual  to  society.  The 
problems  of  the  day  cannot  be  solved  but  with  consideration 
for  universal  principles  which  subordinates  the  individual 
and  actual  tendencies.  The  present  depends  upon  the 
eternal. 

As  to  moral  obligation,  G.  Le  Bon  says  :3 

The  only  moral  conflict  is  the  common  contradiction  be- 
tween individual  and  social  interests.  The  individual  is 
influenced  only  by  remote  reasons  to  devote  himself  to  the 
general  interest.  However,  a  society  has  no  possibility  of 
duration  unless  by  the  identification  of  these  two  inter- 
ests. .  .  . 

The  force  of  a  moral  belief  .  .  .  impels  the  individual  to 
unify  these  two  ideals  and  to  feel  as  proud  of  the  success 
of  his  collectivity  as  of  a  personal  success.  As  soon  as  the 
collective  ideal  disappears,  the  individual  sees  but  his  per- 
sonal interest,  feels  no  reason  to  sacrifice  himself  for  an 
interest  which  is  stranger  to  his  own  and  he  becomes  indif- 
ferent toward  the  general  good. 

Morality,  therefore,  is  founded  upon  a  universal  ele- 
ment of  human  nature:  consciousness  of  relations  to 
others.  Conception  of  duty  is  a  feeling  of  oughtness 
which  arises  from  intelligent  and  free  choice  of  conduct 
of  higher  relative  excellence.  Compliance  with  duty  is 
not  so  rare  as  some  believe.  In  industry,  every  day, 
thousands  heroically  stand  danger  and  injury  in  order  to 
secure  the  safety  of  others  or  merely  to  satisfy  their 
desires.  In  business,  all  operations  of  credit  are  founded 

•G.  Le  Bon,  La  Vie  des  VSrites. 


i82  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

upon  sense  of  duty,  and  in  civil  service,  policemen  and 
firemen,  to  cite  the  most  conspicuous,  give  daily  examples 
of  self-sacrifice. 

Christianity  first  taught  that  the  spring  of  morality  is 
not  to  be  found  in  laws  but  in  the  conscience  of  indi- 
viduals, for  there  is  erected  a  tribunal  which  has  final 
jurisdiction  in  matters  of  right  and  wrong.  In  practice, 
however,  morality  has  not  proved  always  to  be  effective. 
Some  causes  are:  (a)  the  bias  caused  by  interests  and 
mental  deformations;  (&)  the  attempt  to  apply  the  moral 
law  for  private  instead  of  social  interests;  (c)  the  igno- 
rance of  higher  social  obligations;  and  (d)  the  inability 
to  live  up  to  our  standard  of  right.  Says  G.  Le  Bon :  4 

Social  necessities  are  the  real  generators  of  moral  rules 
and  are  indispensable  for  their  maintenance  .  .  .  but  a 
society  is  not  homogeneous;  it  is  composed  of  different 
groups  possessed  by  particular  interests,  from  which  result 
independent  moralities  which  are  quite  at  variance  with  the 
general  interests.  Hence  we  are  confronted  with  personal 
morality,  group  morality,  and  social  morality.  The  conflict 
of  these  forces  is  solved  by  the  stronger  tendency  at  the 
moment. 

Individual  morality  depends  upon  individual  character. 
It  attains  its  highest  expression  in  the  sentiment  of 
honor,  which  regulates  the  conduct  of  the  individual  in 
such  a  way  as  to  retain  his  own  esteem  as  well  as  that 
of  others. 

Group  morality  is  the  control  that  imperative  necessi- 
ties exercise  upon  the  individual  member  of  the  group, 
in  order  to  force  the  individual  to  support  his  group ;  as, 
for  example,  the  obligation  of  workers  to  join  unions. 

Social  morality  is  the  collective  categorical  imperative 

'Ibid, 


THE  COLLECTIVITY  VS.  THE  INDIVIDUAL     183 

dictated  by  the  instinctive  tendencies  of  mankind  to  real- 
ize the  larger  life  of  society.  The  new  obligation  for 
groups  of  laborers  to  live  up  to  a  contract,  even  though 
it  may  not  give  all  they  are  entitled  to,  springs  from  such 
a  social  necessity. 

Moral  law  is  a  pressure  and  a  guidance  exercised  by 
the  collectivity  upon  its  individual  members;  for  they 
must  assimilate  to  the  social  world.  To  the  workpeople, 
cooperation  is  not  yet  a  command  of  conscience;  but  it 
will  become  so  when  they  comprehend  the  idea  of  service 
and  when  they  awaken  to  a  better  sense  of  the  meaning 
of  worth  and  dignity.  On  the  other  hand,  as  Dean 
Joseph  French  Johnson  said :  5 

Responsibility  and  duty  are  usually  commensurate  with 
power  and  authority;  hence  the  head  of  a  large  business 
with  many  employees  subject  to  his  will  carries  upon  his 
shoulders  serious  duties  as  well  as  responsibilities.  .  .  . 
Economics  teaches  that  in  general  the  rate  of  wages  is  fixed 
by  the  law  of  demand  and  supply.  .  .  .  But  the  laws  of 
political  economy  are  based  on  conditions  as  they  exist,  not 
on  conditions  as  they  ought  to  be.  This  fact  the  enlightened 
business  men  of  to-day  are  beginning  to  understand  and  are 
recognizing  it  as  their  duty  to  improve  the  conditions  under 
which  men  work.  The  relations  of  employer  and  employee 
are  more  than  economic.  They  are  personal  and  ethical. 

78.  Beliefs. — Morality  includes  two  sets  of  rules: 
one,  relatively  fixed,  which  depends  upon  the  soul  of  the 
race;  another,  more  variable,  which  sustains  the  actual 
aspirations  of  the  different  collectivities.  Since  society 
is  in  constant  evolution,  there  is  no  final  truth  for  man. 
Consequently,  moral  obligations  change  to  suit  actual 
necessities.  New  rules  are  imposed  upon  us  when  we 
'  J.  F.  Johnson,  Business  and  the  Man, 


184  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

change  our  belief  as  to  right  and  wrong.  Beliefs  are 
thus  the  spring  of  future  rules.  These  new  rules  at  first 
constitute  a  constraint;  but  when,  by  habit,  discipline 
has  become  unconscious,  they  control  man  from  within 
and  he  feels  free  in  action.  Change  of  belief  involves  a 
corresponding  change  of  morality.  As  to  the  beliefs 
which  determine  the  evolution  of  civilization,  G.  Le  Bon 
declares : 8 

The  civilization  of  a  people  is  based  on  a  small  number 
of  fundamental  ideas,  which  determine  its  institutions,  its 
literature,  and  its  arts.  These  ideas  come  very  slowly  into 
being,  and  they  are  also  very  slow  to  disappear.  Long  after 
their  erroneous  nature  has  become  clear  to  cultivated  minds, 
they  remain  indisputable  truths  for  the  masses  and  continue 
to  exert  their  influence  on  the  rank  and  file  of  a  nation.  It 
is  difficult  to  obtain  recognition  of  a  new  idea,  but  it  is  no 
less  difficult  to  discredit  an  idea  that  has  been  long  generally 
accepted.  .  .  .  The  life  of  a  people,  its  institutions,  beliefs, 
and  arts  are  but  the  visible  expressions  of  its  invisible  soul. 

Civilizations  are  the  result  of  a  few  fundamental  ideas, 
and  when  these  ideas  change,  the  civilizations  are  compelled 
to  change  as  well.  The  Middle  Ages  existed  on  two  prin- 
cipal ideas :  the  religious  idea  and  the  feudal  idea.  Its  arts, 
its  literature,  and  its  entire  conception  of  life  are  derived 
from  these  ideas.  At  the  time  of  the  Renaissance  these 
ideas  underwent  some  modifications ;  the  rediscovered  ideal 
of  the  old  Greco-Latin  world  implants  itself  in  Europe,  and 
at  once  the  conception  of  life,  the  arts  and  literature  begin 
to  be  transformed.  Then  the  authority  of  tradition  is 
shaken,  scientific  truths  substitute  themselves  gradually  for 
revealed  truth,  and  civilization  is  once  again  transformed. 

From  that  time  on,  the  world  has  changed.  Later,  in 
the  early  Nineteenth  Century,  the  industrial  era  began 
as  an  expression  of  a  demand  for  a  fuller  life.  This  new 

*G.  Le  Bon,  Psychology  of  People. 


THE  COLLECTIVITY  VS.  THE  INDIVIDUAL    185 

ideal  has  slowly  penetrated  all  classes.  Nowadays  the 
fundamental  beliefs  of  our  civilization  which  dictate  our 
conditions  of  existence,  mold  our  tendencies,  and  form 
our  institutions  are  the  beliefs  in  democracy,  in  solidarity, 
in  liberty,  in  social  justice,  and  in  the  right  of  all  to 
happiness.  In  industry,  we  believe  in  larger  production, 
in  efficiency,  and  in  service.  All  these  beliefs  are  shaping 
the  new  rules  of  morality.  The  splendid  unanimity  of 
the  American  nation,  rising  as  a  man  to  fight,  at  the  cost 
of  its  blood  and  wealth,  for  the  ideals  of  democracy, 
showed  more  convincingly  than  words  could  do  that  these 
ideals  have  become  the  essential  elements  of  the  Ameri- 
can soul.  The  power  of  these  beliefs  is  irresistible;  no 
force  can  successfully  oppose  their  final  mastery.  The 
present  social  unrest  is  the  expression  of  the  driving 
power  of  these  beliefs  and  of  the  impatience  of  people 
to  hasten  their  fuller  realization. 

The  conflict  between  individual  liberty  and  social  jus- 
tice, however,  is  evident.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that 
secondary  truths,  as,  for  example,  the  principle  of  own- 
ership, have  to  undergo  continually  new  limitations  in 
order  to  follow  the  readjustment  which  incessantly  goes 
on. 

The  great  sympathy  which  to-day  binds  men  in  what 
is  called  universal  solidarity  is  a  manifestation  of  human 
conscience  quite  unknown  in  the  past.  It  is  a  new  con- 
ception of  our  relations  to  others  which  has  changed  our 
morality  from  passive  charity  to  constructive  association 
with  others.  The  old  idea  of  duty  was  that  the  rich 
should  be  charitable  and  the  poor  submissive;  the  new 
idea  which  springs  from  the  feeling  of  solidarity  is 
cooperation  of  all.  Solidarity  is  supported  by  its  useful- 
ness. It  is  a  revelation  to  mankind  of  its  spiritual  unity. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT 

79.  Types  of  Associations. — The  universal  growth 
in  importance  of  different  groups  of  people  makes  our 
time  the  era  of  associations;  and,  as  G.  Le  Bon  said, 
"the  collectivities  are  like  the  sphinx  of  the  antique 
fable;  one  must  solve  their  psychological  problems  or  re- 
sign himself  to  be  devoured  by  them." 

An  association  may  be  formed  of  heterogeneous  or 
homogeneous  elements.  Its  object  may  be  expression  of 
mere  primitive  impulse,  such  as  rioting  or  mutiny ;  asser- 
tion of  common  beliefs,  such  as  those  of  syndicalists, 
unionists,  etc.,  or  pursuit  of  a  common  purpose,  such  as 
production.  One  can  agree  with  only  one  association  at 
a  time,  but  one  can  belong  to  several  associations,  whose 
objects  may  be  very  different,  may  even  be  contra- 
dictory. The  influences  of  the  moment  may  swing  the 
mind  from  one  interest  to  another  and  stimulate  sym- 
pathetic response. 

The  characteristics  of  an  association  are  not  prede- 
termined by  its  members.  The  various  kinds  of  associa- 
tions may  yield  different  results  according  to  the  qualities 
of  its  members,  the  manner  of  interaction  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  their  mode  of  combination.  Professor  E.  A. 
Ross,  who  studied  at  length  these  combinations,  con- 
cludes :  * 

1  E.  A.  Ross,  Foundations  of  Sociology. 

186 


THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT  187 

The  traits  of  a  collectivity,  therefore,  depend  in  part  upon 
the  manner  of  interaction  of  its  members.  Again  the  man- 
ner of  constituting  the  group  unit  may  give  leverage  to  the 
wise  or  give  it  to  the  rash,  favor  the  man  of  words  or  exalt 
the  man  of  ideas,  put  the  helm  into  the  hand  of  the  worthy 
or  leave  it  to  be  grasped  by  the  first  comer.  The  character 
exhibited  by  an  aggregate  of  men  depends,  therefore,  in 
some  degree  on  their  mode  of  combination. 

We  shall  examine  briefly  the  general  tendencies  of  the 
crowd,  the  sect,  the  corporation,  and  the  public,  these 
being  forms  of  association  which  industrial  populations 
can  assume. 

80.  The  Crowd. — The  psychology  of  the  mob, 
which  presents  the  lowest  mental  group-organization,  has 
been  studied  by  G.  Le  Bon,  from  whom  a  free  abstract 
of  its  typical  traits  follows.2 

A  number  of  people  united  together  do  not  necessarily 
form  a  psychological  group;  but  any  number  of  people 
united  by  a  common  idea,  sentiment,  emotion,  interest, 
or  the  like,  even  when  they  are  not  gathered  at  the  same 
place,  can  form  a  psychological  unity  or,  so  to  say,  a 
collective  personality.  Collectivities  then  acquire  tem- 
porarily certain  new  characteristics  which  can  alter  con- 
siderably their  racial  character.  Such  alterations,  for 
instance,  were  noticeable  in  the  enthusiastic  crowds 
which,  in  November,  1918,  cheered  the  news  of  victory, 
and  are  noticeable  in  the  rioting  which  follows  big  strikes. 
When  a  crowd  is  psychologically  organized,  the  person- 
alities of  the  component  individuals  coalesce  and  their 
sentiments  take  a  common  direction. 

The  mob  mind  is  generally  stimulated  first  by  some 
event,  such  as  a  crime,  or  an  unexpected  stroke  of  policy 
or  by  sensational  news,  seldom  by  the  influence  of  one 

'  G.  Le  Bon,  La  Psychologie  des  Foules. 


i88  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

man  upon  others.  When  a  man  arouses  the  crowd,  he 
does  not  need  to  be  present,  for,  as  Professor  E.  A.  Ross 
says,  "mental  touch  is  not  bound  up  with  physical  prox- 
imity." Mob  mind  is  induced  by  the  way  persons  in  the 
crowd  affect  one  another.  When  feeling  is  stirred  up, 
it  extends  by  contagion.  After  a  time  of  interaction, 
suggestion  from  all  sides  awakens  a  collective  emotion 
and  any  casual  leader  can  complete  the  association  and 
command  action. 

The  individuals  who  comprise  an  organized  crowd  be- 
come possessed  by  a  collective  soul  which  makes  them 
think,  feel,  and  act  in  a  way  quite  different  from  that  to 
which  they  are  accustomed  as  individuals.  Even  a  col- 
lectivity of  scholars  can  take  all  the  characteristics  of  the 
mob,  except  in  respect  to  matters  related  to  their  special- 
ties. This  is  true  because  the  most  unlike  people  have 
like  instincts,  passions,  and  sentiments,  which  form  their 
unconscious  inheritance.  When  cultured  men  are  merged 
in  the  crowd,  they  lose  their  acquired  traits  and  are 
dominated  by  common  traits. 

In  the  mob,  individuals  are  turned  into  automatons 
because  they  lose  sense  of  responsibility  and  feel  the 
omnipotence  of  the  crowd.  Then  they  have  the  impul- 
siveness, violence,  ferocity,  or,  as  the  case  may  be,  the 
enthusiasm  and  heroism  of  the  primitive  man.  The  mob 
has  no  will  power ;  it  is  unable  to  control  its  reflexes.  It 
is  very  versatile,  credulous,  irritable,  or  enthusiastic. 
Incapable  of  judgment  and  foresight,  it  cannot  discrim- 
inate between  the  possible  and  the  impossible.  That  is 
why  strikers  sometimes  make  the  most  absurd  demands. 
The  mob  is  always  swayed  by  very  simple,  fanciful  ideas, 
which  seem  to  it  undebatable,  because  it  has  no  sense  of 
proportion  or  power  of  criticism.  It  responds  to  excite- 


THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT  189 

ment,  it  has  extremely  mobile  feelings ;  and  when  sugges- 
tion varies,  it  is  apt  to  manifest  successively  the  most 
conflicting  sentiments.  It  is  ever  ready  for  action,  but 
it  is  animated  by  a  power  which  is  wholly  destructive. 
Although  intolerant  and  fanatical,  it  bends  itself  with 
servility  before  strong  authority;  its  leader  is  a  god  or 
nothing. 

Reason  has  never  influenced  the  masses  because  they 
are  able  to  form  only  the  roughest  associations  of  ideas. 
They  are  prone  to  immediate  generalization  upon  a  par- 
ticular instance;  for  example,  if  one  employer  once 
committed  an  offense,  the  mob  believes  that  all  employers 
all  the  time  are  guilty  of  such  an  offense.  The  crowd 
thinks  only  in  very  simple  images,  which  terrify  or 
seduce  it.  Every  striking,  clearcut,  mental  image,  which 
is  presented  to  its  imagination,  dominates  and  obsesses 
its  mind  and  stimulates  action.  It  does  not  distinguish 
between  the  real  and  the  fancied,  and  it  is  especially 
attracted  by  the  marvelous.  A  mob  composed  of  work 
people  can  imagine  union  delegates  dictating  to  the  board 
of  directors,  but  it  is  unable  to  formulate  its  demands. 

These  extreme  characteristics  apply  particularly  to 
miscellaneous  crowds  because  among  them  irresponsi- 
bility is  at  a  maximum,  and  culture  is  at  a  minimum.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  homogeneous  group,  such  as  an  indus- 
trial personnel,  is  apt  to  retain  some  feeling  of  responsi- 
bility and  thus  restrain  its  impulsiveness.  If  they  come 
under  the  stimulus  of  some  common  interest,  the  homo- 
geneous groups,  composed  of  people  of  common  creed, 
of  similar  situation  and  interests,  or  of  the  same  profes- 
sion or  trade,  are  apt  to  get  into  the  mob  mind,  but  the 
members  can  retain  their  personalities,  their  reason,  and 
will  power  as  to  questions  in  which  they  are  trained. 


190  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

G.  Le  Bon  sets  as  a  law:  "The  stronger  the  soul  of  the 
race,  the  less  accentuated  are  the  inferior  characteristics 
of  the  crowds." 

81.  The  Public. — Professor  E.  A.  Ross  says :  8 

The  public  is  the  dispersed  crowd,  a  body  of  heterogene- 
ous persons,  who,  although  separated,  are  so  in  touch  with 
one  another  that  they  not  only  respond  to  a  stimulus  at 
almost  the  same  moment,  but  are  aware  each  of  the  other's 
response.  The  public  suffers  from  the  same  vices  and  follies 
that  afflict  the  crowd,  but  not  to  the  same  extent. 

Although  the  multitudes  are  exceedingly  conservative 
as  to  essential  traditions,  because  they  are  not  organized 
for  adaptation  to  variation,  crazes  and  fads  have  become 
important  factors  in  public  opinion.  To  quote  Professor 
E.  A.  Ross  again : 4 

For  a  hundred  years  the  effort  has  been  to  explode  super- 
stition, to  diffuse  knowledge,  to  spread  light,  to  free  man 
from  the  spell  of  the  past  and  turn  his  gaze  forward.  The 
attempt  has  succeeded.  The  era  of  obscurantism  has  for- 
ever passed — with  us  the  most  damning  phrase  is  "behind 
the  times."  As  a  result  the  multitude  has  now  the  prestige 
that  once  clothed  the  past.  .  .  .  Instead  of  aping  their  fore- 
fathers, people  now  ape  the  many.  .  .  .  Frequently  a  half 
education  has  supplied  many  ideas  without  developing  the 
ability  to  choose  among  them  .  .  .  and  the  individual  is  left 
with  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  the  drift.  Formerly  the 
people  rejected  the  new  in  favor  of  wont  and  tradition ;  now 
they  tend  to  "go  in"  for  everything  and  atone  for  their 
former  suspiciousness  by  a  touching  credulity. 

In  our  time  the  public  governs.  Universal  contact  by 
means  of  the  printed  word  has  ushered  in  the  rule  of 
public  opinion,  constantly  tested  and  interpreted  by  our 

*E.  A.  Ross,  op.  dt. 
'Ibid. 


THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT  191 

influential  leaders.  On  technical  matters,  little  rationality 
and  consistency  is  to  be  expected  from  public  opinion; 
nevertheless,  critical  intelligence  on  matters  of  vital  pub- 
lic concern  is  increasing.  In  spite  of  fads  and  crazes, 
public  opinion  sometimes  shows  remarkable  wisdom. 
Indeed,  it  is  the  only  custodian  of  the  immortal  human 
interests  and  of  the  democratic  idea.  It  maintains  equi- 
librium among  the  component  elements  of  society. 

Men  of  weight  and  influence  among  labor  realize 
clearly  that  they  can  gain  their  cause  only  through  public 
sentiment  by  exercising  statesmanship  and  by  developing 
constructive  ideas.  As  Professor  J.  H.  Tufts  declared :  5 

The  workingman  must  have  the  help  of  all.  In  other 
words,  it  is  only  through  the  power  of  the  nation  that  he 
can  receive  just  wages  and  proper  protection  to  life  and 
health.  Of  all  classes  in  the  community  he  has  the  strong- 
est interest  in  the  Union.  The  employer  needs  the  state,  the 
nation,  and  their  law  to  protect  his  property ;  the  workman 
needs  the  state,  the  nation,  and  their  law  to  protect  his  very 
life  and  liberty. 

The  public  has  been  regarded  as  the  most  heterogene- 
ous association,  since  it  includes  the  whole  of  society. 
But,  when  a  question  of  interest  to  any  group  arises,  the 
public  splits  into  homogeneous  groups  which  try  to  settle 
their  differences  through  the  opinion  of  others.  In  this, 
the  public  differs  from  the  crowd ;  it  is,  so  to  say,  a  crowd 
of  groups  which  tend  toward  equilibrium.  In  all  ques- 
tions which  involve  group  interests  as,  for  instance,  the 
present  issues  of  industry,  the  different  groups  separate 
from  one  another  in  order  that  their  respective  opinions 
can  be  expressed  and  their  influence  exercised.  When 
a  dispute  arises  between  mine  workers  and  mine  owners, 
*J.  H.  Tufts,  Our  Democracy. 


192  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

these  parties  become  separated  from  the  public,  while  all 
the  rest  of  us,  including  employers  and  employees  in 
other  industries,  form  the  public. 

The  public  as  a  party  to  industry  is  no  longer  a  mass 
of  people  but  an  aggregation  of  distinct  groups,  such  as 
employers,  employees,  capitalists,  merchants,  bankers, 
artisans,  professional  men,  officials,  scientists,  farmers, 
consumers,  and  so  on.  True  public  opinion  about  any 
given  question  is  that  which  would  result  from  the  debate 
of  representatives  of  all  groups. 

82.  The  Sect. — People  possessed  of  the  same  in- 
clinations naturally  group  together  because  they  can 
understand  each  other;  they  have  the  same  type  of  mind 
and  have  common  grounds  on  which  to  meet  and  form 
a  sect. 

The  interests  and  peculiarities  of  groups,  as  well  as 
those  of  individuals,  are  apt  unconsciously  to  create 
mental  deformations.  Prejudice  which  affects  the  groups 
distorts  their  moral  conceptions  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  reconciliation  of  their  interests  constitutes  one  of  the 
greatest  problems  of  our  time.  Groups  emphasize  their 
claims  against  each  other  and  against  society  in  order  to 
maintain  or  get  privileges  and  influence;  but  the  tension 
they  create  brings  about  an  alarming  state  of  unrest. 
Professor  E.  A.  Ross  declares : 6 

The  sect  composed  of  those  who  vibrate  to  the  same 
chord  and  cleave  to  the  same  article  of  faith  is,  broadly 
speaking,  a  homogeneous  group.  It  will  therefore  present 
the  salient  characteristics  of  its  units  and  present  them  in 
an  exaggerated  form.  .  .  .  The  eccentricity  of  opinion,  the 
intensity  of  emotion,  or  the  violence  of  action  of  a  person 
mingling  with  those  of  another  mental  stripe  is  moderated 
by  their  indifference  or  ridicule.  ...  If  now  those  of  a 

*E.  A.  Ross,  op,  cit. 


THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT  193 

certain  bent  become  aware  of  one  another,  draw  together  in 
fellowship,  formulate  articles  of  faith,  glorify  distinctive 
ideals,  perhaps  even  frame  a  manner  of  life  and  develop 
their  own  leaders,  gatherings,  and  literature,  a  sect  is 
formed.  To  the  degree  to  which  the  sectaries  segregate  into 
peculiar  people  the  old  check  ceases  to  operate.  For  each 
reveling  in  this  new  social  environment  renounces  part  or 
lot  with  the  "unbelievers,"  the  "Philistines,"  the  "bour- 
geoisie," the  "unillumined,"  the  "world,"  as  the  rest  of 
society  is  variously  styled.  The  moderating  influence  is 
withdrawn.  Finding  countenance,  each  now  rises  to  the  full 
stature  of  his  eccentricity.  If  it  is  a  class  pride,  he  will 
assert  it  with  an  impudence  and  unreasonableness  he  would 
never  show  by  himself.  If  it  is  a  dislike,  it  hardens  into  a 
murderous  hatred.  If  it  is  a  prejudice,  it  mounts  to  the 
pitch  of  fanaticism.  What  bizarre  notions  of  bourgeoisie 
society  circulate  in  the  taverns  where  anarchists  touch 
glasses.  What  warped  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  become 
hallowed  in  codes  of  tribal  and  professional  ethics. 

Sectarian  deformation  is  akin  to,  and  often  united 
with,  deformations  caused  by  professionalism.7  Such 
deformations  are  those  of  officials,  who  think  they  are 
ruling,  not  serving;  government  employees,  who  consider 
public  office  more  honorable  than  business ;  military  men, 
who  want  to  dominate  civilians;  well-to-do  citizens,  who 
shun  physical  labor  as  if  it  were  infection;  slum  paupers, 
who  look  to  charity  as  a  natural  source  of  income ;  agita- 

7  "Through  the  continued  performance  of  a  certain  function  and 
the  repetition  of  the  various  actions  required  by  such  a  performance 
the  individual  adopts  an  estimation  of  that  function  which  is  both 
absolutely  and  relatively  unwarranted.  An  exaggerated  importance 
is  attached  to  the  systematic  performance  of  an  established  sequence, 
and  every  infringement  upon  such  an  established  order  is  not  con- 
sidered on  the  basis  of  its  intrinsic  bearing  upon  the  result  sought, 
but  condemned  as  a  violation  of  an  established  custom  raised  be- 
yond the  boundaries  of  admissible  criticism.  Professionalism  is  a 
slow  process  of  unconscious  deformation;  to  the  outsider  alone  the 
result  is  painfully  obvious."  (Hubert  Langerock,  "Professionalism," 
American  Journal  of  Sociology,  July,  1915.) 


194  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

tors,  who,  for  the  sake  of  the  struggle,  wish  to  perpetuate 
industrial  troubles;  syndicalists  and  bolshevists,  who 
would  run  industry  for  their  own  profit ;  etc.  The  cata- 
logue of  such  deformations  is  very  large  to-day  and  tends 
to  increase. 

The  sect  is  prone  to  ignore  the  rest  of  society.  Al- 
though it  may  sometimes  disregard  its  own  privileges  or 
even  its  interests,  it  strives  always  for  supremacy,  be- 
cause it  is  quite  sure  it  qualifies  for  leadership.  The 
ability  of  some  sectarians  may  warrant  such  belief,  but 
prejudice  distorts  their  judgment  and  makes  their  propo- 
sitions inacceptable.  A  reasonably  homogeneous  society, 
therefore,  demands  that  such  distorted  habits  of  thought 
be  neutralized  through  disapproval  of  public  opinion. 

The  leader  of  a  radical  sect  has  been  first  a  follower 
who  has  suffered  from  some  injustice;  then,  having  been 
illuminated  by  a  vision  of  a  better  world,  he  has  set  his 
mind  upon  a  new  ideal,  and  disregarding  the  complexity 
of  life,  which  does  not  exist  for  him,  he  becomes  the 
propagandist  of  some  simple  idea  which  appears  to  him 
as  a  panacea.  His  idea  dominates  him  so  much  that 
other  things  lose  their  significance  and  contrary  opinions 
seem  to  him  errors  or  superstitions. 

83.  The  Corporation. — The  impulsiveness  of  the 
mob  and  the  bias  of  the  sect,  which  characterize  the  lower 
forms  of  psychological  organization,  are  essentially  de- 
structive either  of  good  or  evil.  But  when  an  association 
of  men  is  organized  for  constructive  cooperation,  it  is 
called  corporation.  So,  a  corporation  must  have  a  specific 
purpose,  definite  ideas,  special  abilities,  and  common 
sentiments.  These  elements  must  be  so  systematized  that 
the  association  forms  a  living  organism,  in  which  each 
individual  has  a  definite  function  to  perform. 


THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT  195 

The  organization  of  an  industrial  collectivity  is  pri- 
marily determined  by  the  purpose  of  the  corporation. 
It  is  the  business  of  the  organizer  to  set  up  a  system  of 
relation,  differentiation,  specialization,  and  coordination 
which  realizes  that  purpose.  The  perfection  of  an  indus- 
trial organization  is  tested  by  the  accuracy  of  responsive- 
ness of  its  individual  members.  The  more  ingrained  in 
the  subconsciousness  of  these  individuals  the  constructive 
ideas  of  the  organizer  are,  the  more  stable  the  association 
is.  The  law  of  G.  Le  Bon,  transposed  in  terms  of  indus- 
trial engineering,  is:  "The  stronger  the  acquired  traits 
of  the  collective  spirit,  the  less  accentuated  are  the  in- 
ferior characteristics  of  the  collectivity." 

Any  collective  spirit,  the  corporation  like  all  others, 
is  composed  of  all  the  mental  traits  which  the  individuals 
have  in  common.  The  spirit  of  the  corporation  is  com- 
posed of  the  sentiments  and  acquired  traits  handed  down 
by  traditions  and  developed  by  training.  Under  normal 
conditions,  acquired  traits  dominate,  but  the  sentiments 
are  always  present  and  ready  either  to  cooperate  with, 
or  to  oppose,  the  management  according  to  the  stimulus 
which  the  manager  applies.  When  there  is  no  strong 
unity  of  spirit,  the  organization  has  no  stability;  it  may 
be  disintegrated  at  any  time  by  some  exciting  event  or 
by  some  fascinating  suggestion  of  agitators.  As  soon 
as  this  takes  place,  the  trade-acquired  traits  disappear; 
and  class  consciousness,  sentiments,  and  traditions  pre- 
dominate and  sway  the  group.  A  new  spiritual  collec- 
tivity is  thus  formed  which,  more  or  less,  can  assume  the 
characteristics  of  mob  mind  and  sectarian  deformation. 
At  the  worst,  a  mob  rises  up,  ready  for  any  violence, 
regardless  of  the  beneficial  or  evil  consequences  which 
may  ensue,  regardless  as  well  of  all  sacrifices  which  agita- 


196  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

tors  exact  from  them.  Such  an  eccentric  association  of 
workmen  is  a  brainless  body,  blindly  pursuing  a  chimera. 
The  more  irrational  the  outburst,  the  shorter  its  duration. 
The  more  logical  the  stimulus,  the  longer  its  influence. 
In  extreme  cases,  trouble  becomes  chronic,  and,  as  in 
syndicalist  shops,  the  conservative  and  revolutionary 
tendencies  struggle  continually  for  supremacy.  In  these 
shops,  the  workers  belong  at  the  same  time  to  the  cor- 
poration and  to  the  syndicalist  organization.  As  mem- 
bers of  the  corporation  they  carry  out  the  present  order; 
as  syndicalists  they  tend  to  destroy  it.  Between  these  two 
manifestations  of  the  crowd,  a  momentary  outburst  of 
mob  sentiment  and  a  chronic  struggle  for  sect  supremacy, 
there  is  room  for  the  whole  scale  of  troubles  with  which 
we  are  familiar. 

84.  Applying  Morality  to  Industry. — Crowd  mor- 
ality is  peculiar.  According  to  G.  Le  Bon,  if  we  mean 
by  morality  constant  respect  for  certain  conventionalities 
and  permanent  repression  of  egoistic  tendencies,  it  is 
evident  that  the  crowd  is  too  impulsive  and  mobile  to  be 
moral.  But  if  we  include  in  the  term  morality,  a  transi- 
ent manifestation  of  certain  qualities  such  as  devotion, 
disinterestedness,  self-denial,  and  justice,  crowds  are 
sometimes  capable  of  acts  of  the  highest  morality,  though 
they  are  unconscious  of  any  purpose.  Therefore,  a  col- 
lectivity cannot  be  expected  to  live  up  to  a  contract,  un- 
less it  is  so  organized  that  the  moral  obligation  reaches 
the  conscience  of  individuals.  The  corporation  can 
educate  its  members  by  connecting  obligation  with  self- 
interest.  The  laborers  in  the  corporation  must  first 
realize  that,  by  honestly  carrying  out  their  contract,  they 
build  for  themselves  a  reputation  of  manliness  and  fair 
play,  gain  permanent  respect  from  others,  and  so  create 


THE  COLLECTIVE  SPIRIT  197 

a  valuable  asset  for  their  future  negotiations.  Later,  out 
of  self-respect,  they  act  conscientiously.  A  corporation 
can  become  moral  only  through  the  awakening  of  the 
conscience  of  the  individuals.  Whenever  possible,  the 
individuals  of  the  corporation  must  individually  accept 
an  obligation. 

The  conclusion  of  this  review  is  that  a  well  organized 
industrial  collectivity  is  a  body,  conscious  of  its  unity 
and  aware  of  its  constructive  ideals.  It  is  receptive  to 
reason  and  capable  of  loyalty  and  morality ;  but  a  group 
of  disputants,  associated  in  a  crowd  organization,  is  a 
nearly  brainless  body,  inaccessible  to  reason,  unconscious 
of  duty,  and  perhaps  fiercely  destructive.  Consequently, 
compromising  adjustments  with  unfettered  passions  in 
the  midst  of  which,  step  by  step,  leadership  loses  its  influ- 
ence, do  not  avail.  The  way  out  of  trouble  lies  not  in 
the  settling  of  disputes  but  through  constructive  coopera- 
tion with  a  responsible  body,  in  their  prevention. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

LIFE  AS  AN  END  IN  ITSELF 

85.  Essential  Cause  of  Unrest. — Are  the  economic 
claims  of  labor  the  real  cause  of  unrest?    With  due  re- 
gard to  the  American  standard  of  living,  the  survey  of 
the  labor  movement  reveals  that  no  amount  of  economic 
advantages  and  no  relaxation  of  discipline  as  such,  would 
decrease  the  discontent  of  labor  and  bring  anything  like 
industrial  peace.    We  have,  indeed,  witnessed  threatened 
and  actual  strikes  of  the  most  highly  paid  workers,  and 
observed  that  the  best  conditions  and  kindliest  treatment 
afforded  by  state  socialism  failed  to  secure  efficiency  and 
contentment.     There  is  some  fundamental  cause  of  dis- 
cord which  has  yet  been  left  uncorrected.    It  is  proverbial 
that    precapitalistic    handicraftsmen,    in    spite    of    their 
frugality,  enjoyed  a  state  of  happiness  unknown  nowa- 
days.    It  has  been  recognized  since  antiquity  that  riches 
do  not  bring  contentment.     Consequently,  although  the 
problem  is  not  to  give  up  any  material  advance  in  our 
civilization,  which  would  be  a  negative  proposition,  we 
must  try  to  find  out  what  conditions  will  result  in  pros- 
perity with  contentment.    We  must  look  deeper  than  the 
letter  of  the  claims  of  labor  and  regard  those  claims  as 
the  symptoms  of  disease  rather  than  as  the  disease  itself. 

86.  The    Individualistic    Life. — The    fundamental 
difference    between    the    worker    of    the    precapitalistic 
period  and  the  worker  of  our  industrial  era  is  that  the 

198 


LIFE  AS  AN  END  IN  ITSELF  199 

former  lived  an  individual  life,  while  the  latter  belongs 
to  a  productive  collectivity.  The  handicraftsman  was 
the  creator  of  his  world.  Through  direct  action  and 
reaction  between  his  inner  self  and  the  outer  world,  he 
had  endless  opportunities  to  adapt  himself  quickly  to  his 
environment.  He  might  be  poor;  but  free  play  of  per- 
sonality made  him  happy. 

87.  The  Insignificance  of  Industrial  Life. — The  in- 
dustrial worker  of  to-day,  limited  as  he  is  by  narrow 
specialization  of  machine  work,  cannot  express  his  per- 
sonality and  develop  his  powers.    This  is  a  vital  cause  of 
unrest.    In  addition,  he  is  a  member  of  a  spiritless  indus- 
trial group,  he  is  a  citizen  of  a  society  uncorrelated  with 
industry,  he  is  the  sport  of  chance,  and  he  feels  his  own 
insignificance,  his  entire  dependence,  and  the  unreality  of 
his  world.     In  order  to  cure  his  disease,  he  has  built  a 
program  of  reform  and  has  based  it,  not  upon  his  real 
human  aspirations,  of  which  he  is  not  clearly  conscious, 
but  on  the  example  of  those  whom  he  thinks  are  happy 
and  worth  imitating.    He  does  not  know  that  his  models 
also  are  enslaved.     He  has  mistaken  the  ideals  which 
they  seem  to  pursue  for  the  true  end  of  life.     So  an 
industrial  collectivity,  organized  for  economic  purposes 
only,  fails  to  satisfy  the  human  aspirations  of  its  mem- 
bers and  increases  their  unrest. 

88.  The  Spirit  of  Cooperation.— Though  the  for- 
mer individualism  favored  self-expression,  it  does  not 
follow  that  we  should  regard  isolated  action  as  an  ideal 
superior  to  cooperation.     On  the  contrary,  most  men 
alone  are  not  able  to  hold  their  own  in  the  fierce  struggle 
for  existence.    They   are   better   able  to   realize   their 
powers   when   they   come   in   contact   with   sympathetic 
minds.     Hence  the  individual  tends  to  come  out  of  his 


200  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

isolation  and  to  join  the  higher  spiritual  unity  which  the 
industrial  collectivity  is,  or  ought  to  be.  Progress  ob- 
tains through  continually  organizing  the  collectivity  into 
an  evermore  perfect  unity.  Thus  the  better  selves  of  the 
individual  can  become  manifest.  The  members  of  a  con- 
structive collectivity  feel  that  their  united  action  has 
social  purpose  and  that  their  individual  action  is  a  means 
for  attaining  this  purpose;  then  happiness  obtains  as  a 
result  of  cooperation  for  a  better  social  order.  Man  will 
put  forth  any  amount  of  effort  to  "make  life  significant," 
and  the  more  his  group  enhances  his  personality,  the 
stronger  is  the  appeal  of  the  group. 

89.  The    Real   Profit. — The    results    of   industrial 
activity  should  be  weighed  from  both  personal  and  social 
points  of  view.    The  compensations  to  the  employer  and 
the  employed  are  the  measure  and  just  reward  for  their 
actual  services;  but  the  real  industrial  profit  is  the  sur- 
plus of  material,  intellectual,  moral,  and  spiritual  worth 
which  industry  brings  to  society  and  which  dignifies  the 
work  of  cooperators  in  a  collectivity. 

90.  Life  Is  Progress. — From  the  point  of  view  of 
human    engineering,    life   cannot    be    considered    as    a 
biotic  phenomenon,  it  must  be  considered  as  an  end  in 
itself;  for  human  beings  have  existed  for  thousands  of 
years  and,  without  the  formidable  machinery  of  indus- 
try, would  have  continued  to  exist.     In  our  industrial 
era,  life  must  have  meaning  in  accordance  with  the  par- 
ticular   structure    and    functions   of    industrial    society. 
Disregarding  mere  existence,  we  conclude  that  the  word 
"life"  connotes  self-realization  and  progress.     Progress 
may  be  defined  as  internal  or  external  variation  from 
one  situation  to  another  which,   from  an  economic  or 
spiritual  point  of  view,  is  held  to  be  more  desirable,  and 


LIFE  AS  AN  END  IN  ITSELF  201 

which,  by  means  of  society,  benefits  the  individual. 
Progress  is  the  conscious  attainment  of  ideals  and  enjoy- 
ment of  them. 

The  masses  are  not  aware  that  progress  has  been  made. 
Hence,  whatever  the  value  of  progress  may  be,  they  do 
not  appreciate  it  because  for  them  it  is  unreal.  They 
must  understand  progress  as  such  in  order  to  recognize 
its  reality  and  feel  its  value.  These  things,  appreciation 
of  the  reality  and  value  of  progress,  are  essential  to  make 
it  an  expression  of  happy  life.  Those  who  have  come 
after  our  works  and  institutions  have  been  established, 
do  not  conside1-  them  as  symbols  of  progress.  They 
regard  these  works  as  matters  of  the  past,  as  an  expres- 
sion of  the  lives  of  their  ancestors.  So  they  are  not 
stimulated  to  action.  Likewise,  they  are  not  stimulated 
by  works  carried  out  in  an  administrative  way;  that  is, 
without  their  concurrence.  They  do  not  value  these 
works  because  the  works  are  not  a  part  of  their  mental 
world.  But  industrial  and  social  institutions,  built  for 
the  people  and  with  their  cooperation,  are  symbols  of 
progress.  If  a  trust  company  helps  a  man  with  credit 
to  build  his  own  house,  according  to  a  plan  of  his  choice, 
he  will  appreciate  it  as  real  progress,  for  the  house  is  a 
realization  of  his  self.  And  such  progress  will  stimulate 
his  best  industry  in  order  to  pay  his  debt. 

91.  Collective  Life. — Our  present  industrial  trouble 
comes  from  our  attempt  to  maintain  an  individualistic 
life  which  ignores  the  collective  purpose  of  industry.  We 
try  in  vain  to  arouse  interest  in  specialized  and  insignifi- 
cant tasks  which  cannot  constitute  an  end  of  life.  The 
greatest  change  which  characterizes  our  epoch  of  indus- 
trial cooperation  is  the  change  from  the  interests  of  the 
individual  in  himself  to  an  interest  in  his  collectivity. 


202  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Consequently,  let  work  be  an  indisputable  means  for 
attaining  social  progress.  Then  work  becomes  joyous 
and  gives  life  significance.  The  individual  must  feel  that, 
by  his  specialized  work,  he  contributes  to  the  collective 
purpose  as  well  as  to  his  own  prosperity.  He  does  not 
feel  that  he  loses  his  personality  if  he  becomes  a  perfect 
part  of  the  collectivity.  Indeed,  if  he  adheres  to  collec- 
tive purposes  and  others  recognize  that  he  shares  in  the 
pursuit  of  their  purposes,  he  meets  the  two  conditions 
which  will  save  his  personality  from  being  merged  in  an 
impersonal  group  or  class. 

92.  Forms  of  Progress. — Life  is  action  and  develop- 
ment. Therefore,  progress  has  a  double  meaning:  indi- 
vidual or  collective. 

/.  Personal  Progress. — Cooperation  in  industry 
means  that  the  work  of  the  individual  influences  himself, 
his  associates,  the  consumers,  and  society  at  large;  while 
the  individual,  in  return,  is  influenced  not  only  by  others 
in  the  same  way,  but  also  by  the  reaction  to  his  own 
effort.  Were  individuals  unrelated,  such  individual  in- 
fluence would  be  infinitesimal;  but  when  individuals  are 
united  for  teamwork  into  great  organizations  involving 
thousands,  the  individual  influence  is  so  multiplied  that 
it  becomes  a  considerable  social  force. 

Progress  means  more  perfect  adaptation;  that  is,  a 
greater  capacity  in  the  individual  both  to  serve  the  col- 
lectivity and  to  enjoy  the  services  of  others. 

//.  Collective  Progress. — Surplus,  created  above 
handicraft  production  and  the  needs  of  immediate  con- 
sumption, is  the  raison  d'etre  of  industry;  it  measures 
the  increased  productive  power  of  the  individual.  It 
causes  material  progress  and,  by  supporting  non-pro- 
ducers, also  effects  spiritual  progress.  Surplus  is  thus 


LIFE  AS  AN  END  IN  ITSELF  203 

the  source  or  the  raw  material  of  progress,  so  to  speak. 
When  it  is  converted  into  social  institutions  which  im- 
prove the  traditional  conditions  of  society,  people  attain 
their  ideals  and  realize  progress.  The  groups  get  their 
compensation  for  cooperation  through  improvement  in 
social  institutions.  Industrial  and  social  engineering 
will  develop  this  proposition. 


CHAPTER  XX 

LOYALTY 

93.  Nature  of  Loyalty. — Loyalty  is  a  faithful  rela- 
tion to  some  person  or  some  idea.  In  industry,  it  is  a 
sentimental  adherence  to  the  policy  of  the  concern  or  to 
the  industrial  system;  it  manifests  itself  by  good  will. 
W.  D.  Scott  has  admirably  described  loyalty.  I  cannot 
do  better  than  to  quote  some  abstracts  of  his  interesting 
chapter : * 

As  with  patriotism,  business  loyalty  needs  some  such 
crisis  to  evoke  its  expression.  .  .  .  Study  of  any  field,  of 
any  single  house,  or  of  any  of  the  periods  of  depression 
which  has  afflicted  and  corrected  our  industrial  progress, 
will  convince  one  of  the  unfailing  and  genuine  loyalty  of 
men  to  able  and  considerate  employers. 

Cooperation  of  employees  is  the  first  purpose  of  organiza- 
tion. Without  loyalty  and  teamwork  the  higher  levels  in 
output,  quality,  and  service  are  impossible.  .  .  .  The  em- 
ployer who  secures  the  loyalty  of  his  men  not  only  secures 
better  service,  but  he  enables  his  men  to  accomplish  more 
with  less  effort  and  less  exhaustion. 

Such  loyalty  is  always  reciprocal ;  the  feeling  which  work- 
men entertain  for  their  employer  is  usually  a  reflection  of 
his  attitude  toward  them.  .  .  .  He  must  identify  them  with 
his  business,  and  make  them  feel  that  they  have  a  stake  in 
its  success  and  that  the  organization  has  an  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  its  men. 

Personality  is,  beyond  doubt,  the  primitive  wellspring  of 
loyalty.  Most  men  are  capable  of  devotion  to  a  worthy 

*W.  D.  Scott,  Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business. 

204 


LOYALTY  205 

leader;  few  are  ever  zealous  for  the  sake  of  a  cause,  a 
principle,  a  party,  or  a  firm.  It  is  only  when  they  become 
embodied  in  an  individual,  a  concrete  personality  which 
stirs  our  human  interest,  that  they  become  moving  powers. 
Loyalty  to  the  individuals  constituting  the  firm  may  ulti- 
mately develop  into  house  loyalty.  To  attempt  to  create  the 
latter  sentiment,  however,  except  by  first  creating  it  for  the 
men  higher  up  is  to  go  contrary  to  human  nature — always 
an  unwise  expenditure  of  energy. 

In  developing  loyalty,  human  sympathy  is  the  greatest 
factor.  Throughout  the  entire  organization  the  sympathy 
and  cooperation  of  the  men  above  with  the  men  below  is 
essential  for  securing  the  highest  degree  of  loyalty.  No 
assumed  or  manufactured  sympathy,  however,  will  take  the 
place  of  the  genuine  article. 

Many  men  have  employed  thousands  and  secured  it.  The 
impression  made  upon  a  few  and  the  loyalty  created  in  them 
were  sufficient  to  permeate  and  influence  the  entire  body. 

In  a  business  house  ideally  organized  to  create  loyalty, 
each  employee  not  only  feels  that  his  rights  are  protected, 
but  also  feels  a  degree  of  responsibility  for  the  success  and 
for  the  good  name  of  the  house.  He  feels  that  his  task  or 
process  is  an  essential  part  of  the  firm's  activity  and  hence 
is  important  and  worthy  of  his  efforts. 

Loyalty  in  business  is  in  the  main  a  reciprocal  relation- 
ship. The  way  to  begin  it  is  for  the  chief  to  be  loyal  to  his 
subordinates  and  to  see  to  it  that  all  officers  are  loyal  to 
their  inferiors.  When  loyalty  from  above  has  been  secured, 
loyalty  from  the  ranks  may  readily  be  developed.  The  per- 
sonality of  the  worker  must  be  respected  by  the  employer. 
Giving  a  man  a  chance  to  develop  himself,  allowing  him  to 
express  his  individuality  is  the  surest  way  of  enlisting  the 
interest  and  loyalty  of  a  creative  man.  Give  a  man  the  least 
touch  of  authority  and  he  seems  to  take  an  added  moral 
stature. 

So  far  as  possible,  responsibility  for  the  success  of  the 
house  should  be  assumed  by  all  employees.  In  some  way 
the  workmen  should  feel  that  they  are  in  partnership  with 


206  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  executive.    We  easily  develop  loyalty  for  the  cause  for 
which  we  have  taken  responsibility  or  rendered  service. 

Loyalty  is  an  attitude  of  mind  which  binds  different 
persons  in  readiness  for  favorable  response.  In  industry 
it  is  a  confident  relationship  between  employer  and  em- 
ployee which  gives  cohesion  to  the  organization  and 
creates  good-will. 

94.  Building  Loyalty:  /.  Loyalty  to  the  Concern. 
— Loyalty  is  the  pillar  of  the  industrial  machinery,  for 
it  brings  about  the  association  of  the  interests  of  the 
employee  with  the  prosperity  of  his  concern.  Reci- 
procity of  interest  obtains  when  both  parties  are  benefited 
equally  and  are  loyal  to  each  other  and  when  both  can 
expect  future  profits  from  cooperation.  Both  parties 
cannot  have  confidence  in  each  other  except  by  means 
of  daily  practice  in  loyalty  and  justice  toward  each 
other.  Mutual  confidence  cannot  be  established  once  for 
all,  it  requires  continuous  upkeep  through  continuous 
repetition  of  service.  It  results  not  from  declaration,  but 
from  the  suggestions  of  facts  and  continual  competition 
in  good  will.  Says  Professor  J.  R.  Commons :  2 

The  new  loyalty  is  the  loyalty,  not  of  penalties,  but  of 
goodwill.  Thus  education,  interesting  work,  and  loyalty  go 
together.  Loyalty  is  not  gratitude  for  past  favors,  not  a 
sense  of  obligation,  but  is  expectation  of  reciprocity.  If  the 
future  is  not  to  be  better  than  the  past,  then  gratitude  loses 
its  hold.  Education  is  not  the  teaching  of  gratitude  or 
obligation  for  favors  received,  but  is  the  unfolding  possi- 
bilities in  the  job  and  the  worker.  It  is  this  that  makes  the 
work  interesting  and  converts  loyalty  into  goodwill. 

The  main  object  of  industrial  representation  is  to  gain 
the  loyalty  of  employees  by  getting  them  to  think  about 

'J.  R.  Commons,  Industrial  Good-Will. 


LOYALTY  207 

and  to  see  connection  between  efficient  production  and 
their  own  interest  in  health,  safety,  security,  promotion, 
fair  wages,  and  other  better  conditions.  Interest  is 
aroused  and  maintained  by  thinking  out  the  means  for 
greater  accomplishment.  The  employees  need  to  be 
educated  in  thinking  correctly  and  provided  with  data  for 
constructive  thinking.  Furthermore,  they  must  under- 
stand why  piece  rates  have  to  be  cut  sooner  or  later. 
Since  manufacturers  compete  for  lower  prices,  industrial 
progress  results  from  a  continual  increase  of  efficiency 
which  decreases  cost.  When  some  manufacturer  has  in- 
troduced a  new  and  more  efficient  method,  the  piece  rates 
paid  under  the  old  method,  which  was  once  profitable, 
must  go  down  in  his  shop  as  well  as  in  the  shops  of  his 
competitors.  Cooperation  is  necessary  to  improve 
efficiency  and  to  maintain  or  increase  the  earnings  of  the 
workers,  notwithstanding  the  decrease  of  piece  rates. 
When  the  workers  understand  that  piece  rates  can  be 
guaranteed  only  for  a  certain  period,  their  distrust  may 
be  converted  into  loyalty. 

//.  Loyalty  to  the  Industrial  System. — It  is  important 
that  workers  comprehend  how  they  merely  exchange 
specialized  services  and  how  they  satisfy  their  own  de- 
sires only  in  proportion  to  the  measure  in  which  they 
satisfy  the  wants  of  others.  Elementary  principles  have 
to  be  imparted  to  them,  from  which  their  common  sense 
can  discover  their  own  function  in  the  mechanism  of  ex- 
change. They  must  understand  how,  by  making  more 
and  cheaper  shoes  in  one  place  and  more  and  cheaper 
hats  in  another,  all  of  them  will  get  more  shoes  and  more 
hats  for  a  day's  work. 

There  is  no  escape  from  trouble  until  labor  compre- 
hends that  the  only  source  of  more  wealth,  in  which  to 


208  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

share,  lies  in  more  production  at  less  cost.  The  right 
mental  attitude  toward  that  economic  law  is  necessary  to 
build  loyalty  to  the  industrial  system.  We  have  to  shape 
it  by  an  educational  campaign,  visualizing  the  functions 
of  exchange  and  proving,  by  simple  examples,  how 
workers  work  for  each  other. 

For  several  years,  laudable  efforts  have  been  made  by 
some  concerns  to  teach  workers  the  significance  of  their 
work  in  regard  to  the  purposes  of  their  concern.  The 
increase  of  interest  which  has  resulted  shows  the  recep- 
tivity and  responsiveness  of  the  workers;  but  we  have  to 
go  further  and  show  the  whole  chain  of  connection  be- 
tween different  industries.  Does  a  man  who  never 
travels  understand  the  utility  of  railroads  and  how  he 
contributes  to  the  wages  of  railroad  employees?  A  vivid 
image  of  this  and  other  connecting  links  between  his  own 
effort  and  that  of  his  fellow  producers  is  at  the  basis  of 
loyalty  to  the  industrial  system.  Such  an  educational 
movement  is  not  limited  to  the  shop,  for  the  public  also 
is  interested.  Recently  an  educational  campaign  of  that 
sort  has  been  started  by  the  National  Association  of 
Manufacturers,  as  Stephen  C.  Mason  says :  * 

Through  a  carefully  selected  staff  of  public  speakers, 
various  forms  of  printed  literature,  stereopticon  slides,  and 
moving-picture  films,  we  have  spread  broadcast  the  con- 
structive gospel  of  industrial  cooperation.  The  results 
achieved  have  been  visible  already  in  the  more  recent  general 
awakening  of  political  leaders,  economists,  leading  employ- 
ers and  bankers,  as  well  as  among  various  craft  and  trade 
organizations  to  the  need  of  preaching  and  practicing  coop- 
erative relations  between  the  employer  and  the  employee. 
The  work  described  has  been  performed  by  the  National 

'Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ences for  March,  1919. 


LOYALTY  209 

Association  of  Manufacturers  because  there  seemed  to  be  a 
general  misconception  of  industrial  problems,  needs  and 
conditions  which  had  greatly  contributed  toward  industrial 
inefficiency  and  the  creation  of  unrest  and  strife.  It  has 
been  carried  on  free  of  any  tinge  of  prejudice  or  contro- 
versial effort,  simply  as  a  constructive  educational  campaign 
to  make  possible  the  greater  realization  of  that  spirit  of 
fair  dealing  enunciated  in  the  first  article  of  the  Associa- 
tion's Declaration  of  Labor  Principles. 

Loyalty  to  the  industrial  system  is  not  individual,  it  is 
the  loyalty  of  the  collectivity  of  labor  which  includes 
not  only  the  workers  but  their  families  as  well.  This 
collective  loyalty  depends  upon  correct  opinion  of  the 
industrial  system  and  social  order,  but  such  an  opinion 
cannot  be  formed  by  an  educational  campaign  alone.  The 
feeling  of  beneficial  reciprocity  among  social  groups  is 
as  necessary  to  stimulate  the  loyalty  of  the  collectivity 
of  labor  toward  the  industrial  system  as  it  is  to  stimulate 
the  loyalty  of  the  individual  toward  his  employer.  We 
shall  see  in  Part  IV  how  this  feeling  results  from  co- 
operation and  experience  in  reciprocal  services  among  the 
group  of  labor,  employers,  capitalists,  and  other  groups 
included  in  the  public. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

IDEALS 

95.  Definition  of  Ideals. — It  is  not  submission  that 
has  created  civilization,  but  the  efforts  of  the  best  men 
working  for  a  better  life.  The  aptitude  for  discontent, 
which  distinguishes  the  human  species  from  others,  is 
really  the  only  source  of  progress.  Since  man  feels  pain 
when  he  is  badly  adjusted  to  conditions,  he  aspires  to 
better  things.  By  criticizing  the  present  order,  he  is 
spurred  to  progress.  By  imagination,  judgment,  and 
memory  of  past  experiences  he  constructs  for  himself  an 
image  of  a  more  attractive  possibility,  that  is,  an  ideal. 
Dean  J.  F.  Johnson  explains  this  construction  as  fol- 
lows : 1 

Using  those  past  experiences  which  have  given  us  the 
most  pleasurable  emotions,  or  have  proved  themselves  of 
golden  worth  to  our  reason,  the  imagination,  spurred  some- 
times by  our  pleasure-loving  senses,  sometimes  by  our  con- 
science, sometimes  by  our  desire  for  success  and  happiness, 
pictures  those  experiences  to  us  in  a  combination  which 
seems  absolutely  perfect.  Thus  it  is  we  get  the  ideal.  It  is 
a  human  product  and  may  be  far  from  perfection,  yet  to 
every  man  his  ideal  has  all  the  qualities  of  perfection. 

Unconsciously  the  imagination  of  every  man  is  forever 
at  work  building  ideals  that  charm  his  soul  and  stir  him  to 
activity.  The  ideal  of  one  man  may  seem  base,  vulgar,  and 
commonplace  to  a  man  of  higher  type,  whereas  the  ideals  of 

*  J.  F.  Johnson,  Business  and  the  Man. 

210 


IDEALS  211 

the  latter  may  seem  foolish,  impracticable,  worthless  to  a 
man  of  cheaper  tastes. 

No  man  can  subdue  his  imagination  and  keep  it  from 
building  ideals.  A  man's  imagination  keeps  forever  at  its 
work  and  constructs  for  him  ideals  in  accordance  with 
which  he  must  live.  In  the  firmament  of  every  man's  soul 
there  is  a  polar  star — it  is  the  ideal  that  dominates  his 
life.  .  .  . 

It  contains  for  us  all  the  promise  of  Canaan  to  the  Israel- 
ites and  beckons  to  us  with  such  compelling  charm  that  we 
struggle  toward  it  with  all  our  energy  and  will.  Sacrifice, 
fatigue,  hunger,  misfortune,  criticism  by  our  friends,  the 
cajolery  of  temptations — all  these  things  mean  nothing  to 
us  and  fail  to  stop  us.  Then  we  are  men  of  purpose,  of 
ambition. 

The  ideal  is  not  a  mere  idea ;  it  is  a  more  or  less  definite 
conception  of  the  present  order  improved  by  a  new  idea. 
At  any  time  we  may  have  some  intuition  of  another  ex- 
istence superior  to  the  present.  Such  a  conception  of  a 
better  reality  holds  our  attention  and  stimulates  our 
desire  for  its  realization;  yet  it  is  but  a  stepping-stone 
on  the  endless  road  toward  greater  perfection.  As  soon 
as  our  ideal  has  become  a  reality,  its  attraction  vanishes 
and  another  ideal  succeeds  it.  This  greater  ideal  arouses 
new  aspirations ;  opens  a  new  field  of  interests,  and  stimu- 
lates a  desire  for  realization.  Then,- having  become  a 
fact,  it  affords  in  turn  a  basis  for  the  development  of  a 
new  and  superior  ideal,  and  so  on.2  For  instance,  an 
ideal  of  man  once  was  to  fly.  When  the  ideal  of  the 
airplane  became  a  reality,  the  ideal  lost  interest  and  the 
airplane  became  an  object  of  curiosity.  Later,  the  ideal 
was  to  develop  the  airplane  into  an  instrument  for  war, 
and  now  the  ideal  is  to  make  it  a  means  of  transportation 
for  commercial  purposes. 

1  See  Dr.  Dromard,  Le  Reve  et  I' Action. 


212  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

An  ideal  is  felt  as  practicable  when  it  conforms 
to  laws  of  nature  and  when  it  is  worked  out  from 
actual  experience.  So,  in  order  to  imagine  a  more  de- 
sirable future,  we  must  start  from  the  present.  A 
Utopia  is  a  plan  for  an  ideal  state  but  it  disregards  reali- 
ties. It  is  mere  fancy,  though  a  logical  structure  of  a 
desirable  state;  but  it  is  impracticable  because  it  opposes 
the  laws  of  nature.  Hence,  true  ideals  must  be  built  by 
means  of  a  working  knowledge  of  facts  and  principles. 
Everything  which  exists  was  first  a  mental  conception, 
an  ideal.  Once  the  safety  pin,  the  fountain  pen,  our 
clothing,  the  apartment  house,  the  machine  tool,  the  mail- 
order house,  the  post  office,  scientific  management,  and 
democratic  government  were  ideals;  now  they  are  reali- 
ties. An  ideal  is  not  necessarily  a  big  scheme;  it  is  any 
conception  of  amelioration  applied  even  to  the  smallest 
aspect  of  everyday  life.  It  may  be  better  handwriting,  a 
smokeless  automobile,  lower  cost  of  living,  better  rela- 
tions between  employer  and  employed,  as  well  as  a  vision 
of  a  perfect  society.  Ideals  are  the  future  in  the  making ; 
they  continually  impel  us  to  grow.  At  present,  labor 
builds  an  ideal  of  emancipation.  The  manufacturer 
realizes  the  ideal  of  selling  directly  to  the  consumer.  The 
merchant  imagines  ideals  of  new  services.  The  banker 
develops  foreign-trade  methods.  The  nation  plans  a 
large  fleet  of  merchantmen,  and  so  on. 

In  conclusion,  the  ideals  of  an  individual,  of  a  concern, 
of  a  nation,  are  not  only  the  conceptions  of  their  purposes, 
they  are  also  the  molds  which  shape  their  lives.  Hence, 
since  ideals  determine  our  activities  and  destiny,  they  are 
the  most  important  things  in  the  world,  for  they  differen- 
tiate men,  firms,  and  nations.  And,  as  Alfred  W.  Martin 
said :  "It  does  not  matter  what  our  practices  have  been. 


IDEALS  213 

If  our  ideal  surpasses  our  present  circumstances,  there 
is  hope  for  indefinite  progress." 

96.  Placing  Ideals. — The  ideal  has  two  sides:  one 
in  the  finite  manifestations  of  our  daily  life  and  the  other 
in  the  infinite  aspirations  of  humanity.  The  former  is 
a  constant  tendency  toward  greater  excellence;  the  latter, 
a  more  distant  vision  of  a  new  order.  Hence,  ideals  of 
production,  of  industrial  relations,  and  of  social  institu- 
tions require  different  periods  of  time  for  realization.  I 
can  imagine  how  to  do  my  work  a  little  better  to-morrow 
than  I  did  it  to-day.  The  time  and  place  for  the  realiza- 
tion of  such  an  ideal  are  definite  and  depend  upon  myself. 
But  cooperation  in  management,  for  example,  is  an  ideal 
placed  at  a  more  distant  time,  whereas  full  development 
of  democracy  is  still  farther  ahead. 

People  who  think  that  remote  ideals  can  be  immedi- 
ately realized  by  passing  laws  or  by  making  revolutions 
misplace  in  time  their  ideals.  Those  who  are  familiar 
with  legislatures  know  that  it  is  easier  to  pass  laws  than 
to  enforce  them,  because  the  application  of  laws  requires 
organization  of  thought.  So  ideals  by  themselves  are  not 
"forces,"  they  become  "forces"  by  being  shared  by  the 
collectivity.  An  ideal  is  powerful,  not  when  a  few  think 
that  it  ought  to  be,  but  only  when  the  many  are  per- 
suaded that  it  must  be.  The  building  of  ideals  in  a  col- 
lectivity is  thus  a  process  of  propagation  and  develop- 
ment which  takes  time  and  requires  guidance.  It  is 
necessary  to  take  courage  and  cultivate  patience  when  the 
attainment  of  our  ideals  is  still  a  long  way  ahead  of  us. 
It  took  some  twenty  years  to  obtain  woman  suffrage; 
in  all  probability  it  will  take  as  long  to  organize  in- 
dustry on  a  democratic  basis  and  realize  our  present 
democratic  ideal. 


214  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

97.  Functions  of  Ideals. — If  people  look  backwards 
and  have  no  ideals  for  the  future,  they  live  in  a  state  of 
stagnation  inconsistent  with  the  development  of  indus- 
tries. That  is  why  China,  which  lives  by  tradition,  has 
no  industries.  Progressive  people,  on  the  contrary,  cre- 
ate continually  new  wants  which  industry  must  satisfy. 
Consequently,  industrial  development  is  bound  up  with 
ideals  and  their  evolution.  Discontent  and  aspiration  for 
progress,  therefore,  are  not  things  to  be  feared  and  an- 
tagonized indiscriminately.  They  may  be  destructive 
when  their  manifestation  is  left  to  chance;  but  when  they 
engender  constructive  ideals,  they  become  the  funda- 
mental cause  of  opportunity  for  business. 

Plato  said  the  ideal  stands  forth  and  attracts  us.  Other 
philosophers  consider  the  ideal  as  a  force  pushing  us 
from  behind.  The  true  ideal  is  a  vision  of  a  better  order 
of  things,  which  varies  in  time  and  space  and  which 
stands  forth  as  a  guiding  star.  The  eternal  human  im- 
pulses which  push  man  toward  his  goal  are  motives  of 
action.  Ideals  alone  are  static;  they  picture  new  possi- 
bilities. Motives  are  dynamic;  they  stimulate  action  to- 
ward attainment  of  ideals.  The  union  of  ideals  and 
motives  gives  the  vital  impulse  which  makes  progress. 

The  ideal  is  not  the  end;  the  ultimate  end  is  life. 
Therefore,  a  function  of  the  ideal  is  to  give  direction 
and  significance  to  life  and  to  shape  in  finite  form  infinite 
aspirations.  For  example,  the  aspirations  of  labor  for 
spiritual  emancipation  and  social  justice  now  seek  to 
define  an  ideal  order  which  will  satisfy  such  aspirations. 

Ideals  coordinate  efforts  to  a  definite  end  and  develop 
interest  in  work.  Indeed,  every  task,  however  humble, 
has  its  problems,  defined  by  its  limitations,  as  to  quality, 
quantity,  and  acceptability.  When  we  define  these  limi- 


IDEALS  215 

tations,  we  state  the  problems  and  invite  the  mind  of  the 
worker  to  solve  them  and  so  attain  greater  results. 

The  larger  function  of  the  ideal  is  to  unite  individuals 
into  a  spiritual  collectivity  and  compel  them  to  cooperate 
for  the  realization  of  their  common  aspirations.  Better 
working  and  living  conditions  are  the  common  ideal 
which  gives  cohesion  to  trade-unions  and  labor  parties. 
The  ideal  of  democracy  rules  America. 

98.  Formation  of  Ideals. — A  collective  ideal 
develops  gradually  through  a  process  of  action  and  reac- 
tion between  the  individual  who  originates  the  essential 
idea  and  the  collectivity  which  refashions  it.  The  fol- 
lowing example  will  illustrate  the  process  of  action  and 
reaction.  When  a  designing  engineer  conceives  a  new 
machine,  his  first  step  is  to  imagine  a  rough  idea  which 
embodies  a  principle;  his  second,  is  to  make  as  the  first 
expression  of  his  idea  a  sketch  without  proportion;  his 
third,  to  make  computations  which  determine  propor- 
tions ;  his  fourth,  to  make  a  detailed  drawing  in  order  to 
define  his  new  order  of  things.  At  every  one  of  these 
steps,  the  actualization  of  the  conception  of  the  designer 
reacts  upon  his  mind  and  defines  more  clearly  his 
projects,  though  it  closes  the  way  to  certain  other  solu- 
tions. The  process  continues  after  the  phases  of  manu- 
facturing, testing,  and  actual  service  of  the  machine  have 
taken  place.  Each  of  these  stages  reveals  imperfections 
which  react  upon  the  originating  mind  of  the  designer 
and  enable  him  to  imagine  a  more  perfect  design,  that 
is,  a  new  ideal.  At  every  step  of  the  process  of  design- 
ing, the  creative  action  of  the  designer  upon  the  form 
tends  to  identify  the  machine  with  his  mind;  while  every 
reaction  of  the  form  upon  his  mind  identifies  his  mind 
with  the  machine  and  suggests  a  new  ideal. 


216  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

A  collective  ideal  is  formed  in  almost  the  same  way. 
In  machine  designing,  the  suggestions  may  come  from 
the  form  itself;  whereas,  in  the  process  of  human 
organization,  the  reaction  comes  from  the  mind  of  the 
people  whose  thoughts  are  about  to  be  organized.  When 
an  individual  has  a  revelation  of  what  ought  to  be,  he 
expresses  his  plan  of  a  new  order  of  things  and  tries  to 
influence  and  rally  his  fellow  men,  but  he  antagonizes 
their  cherished  opinions  and  ingrained  habits  and  thus 
provokes  discussion,  criticism,  and  opposition.  This  re- 
action shows  the  leader  the  defects  in  his  original  concep- 
tion and  induces  in  his  mind  new  associations  of  ideas 
from  which  a  more  precise  and  acceptable  conception  is 
made  and  imparted  to  his  prospective  followers.  So,  by 
action  and  reaction,  the  ideal  develops  until  it  becomes  a 
standard  which  governs  the  behavior  of  the  collectivity. 
We  have  examples  of  such  a  phenomenon  in  the  introduc- 
tion, as  well  as  in  the  working,  of  the  committee  system 
of  management.  Public  ideals  are  formed  in  a  more  hap- 
hazard way  because,  before  becoming  influencing  ideals, 
the  original  ideas  are  very  much  deformed  by  different 
persons. 

An  organization  must  have  a  leader  on  whom  to  focus 
its  aspirations.  He  must  have  enough  imagination  to 
express  explicitly  what  the  collectivity  feels  vaguely. 
Although  he  first  expresses  the  ideal,  he  is  not  arbitrary. 
In  the  highest  form  of  organization,  the  will  of  the 
leader  is  a  concrete  expression  of  the  latent  desires  of  his 
followers.  There  is  a  perfect  agreement  in  purposes. 
So,  the  more  numerous  the  points  of  contact  between 
leader  and  followers,  the  better  their  influence  upon  each 
other  molds  their  minds  into  spiritual  unity.  Hence,  as 
a  principle,  the  power  of  the  leader  depends  primarily 


IDEALS  217 

upon  his  ability  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  his  organiza- 
tion; while  his  followers,  in  order  to  express  his  will, 
must  dissociate  themselves  from  their  particular  prepos- 
sessions and  share  his  ideals.  Thus,  animated  by  com- 
mon ideals,  the  organization  becomes  a  constructive 
instrument  of  progress  and  harmony. 

The  organization  of  the  spirit  of  a  collectivity  is  not 
confined  to  the  relations  between  leader  and  followers. 
It  also  spiritualizes  the  relations  among  followers,  so 
that  every  one  influences  his  fellows  and  brings  out  the 
spiritual  possibilities  that  are  latent  in  them.  Such 
mutual  development  of  life  by  life  in  daily  intercourse  is 
really  what  makes  men  fit  and  valuable  for  their  organ- 
ization. 

The  true  reality  is  not  merely  what  is  seen  but  what 
is  coming.  Hence  the  future  depends  largely  upon  the 
correct  formation  of  ideals,  the  initial,  creative  stage  of 
everything. 

The  time  is  ripe  for  the  introduction  into  business  meth- 
ods of  high  ideals ;  and  this  has  been  recognized  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  business  men  of  the  United  States. — ELBERT 
H.  GARY. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

MOTIVES  OF  CONDUCT 

99.  Is  Conduct  Controllable? — It  was  formerly  sup- 
posed that  man  was  motivated  mainly  by  external 
promptings ;  but  it  is  now  recognized  that  motives  of  ac- 
tion spring  from  within. 

Ordway  Tead  has  recently  shown  the  role  of  instincts 
as  motives  of  human  behavior  and  concludes  by  saying : l 

Our  facts,  therefore,  appear  to  have  brought  us  to  several 
fairly  definite  conclusions : 

First,  that  the  cause  of  the  conduct  of  individuals  and 
groups  are  knowable.  Although  there  are  subtleties  and 
complexities,  we  can  come  to  approximate  knowledge  of 
the  origins  of  the  characteristic  reactions  of  people  to  given 
types  of  situations.  We  can  begin  to  answer  with  some 
beginnings  of  accuracy  the  question  which  is  too  often  put : 
"Why  do  they  act  that  way?" 

Second,  that  human  nature  and  its  elements  are  subject  to 
law — a  fact  from  which  we  may  properly  derive  a  modicum 
of  hope  and  encouragement  as  to  the  future  of  the  race, 
because  this  fact  carries  with  it  the  conclusion: 

Third,  that  conduct,  if  subject  to  law,  can  be  controlled  if 
we  can  control  its  causes.  Human  nature  will  respond  in 
varying  ways  to  varying  stimuli,  and  if  we  supply  a  stimulus 
which  is  calculated  to  evoke  only  the  more  socially  beneficent 
impulses  of  human  beings  (assuming  that  we  know  which 
they  are),  we  can  rely  upon  the  desired  reactions  taking 
place. 

1  Ordway  Tead,  Instinct  in  Industry. 

218 


MOTIVES  219 

Fifth,  that  since  adequate  expression  of  individual  and 
group  impulses  requires  a  considerable  measure  of  self- 
direction,  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  the  demand  for  an  ex- 
tension of  the  democratic  method  is  in  fundamental  harmony 
with  the  facts  of  human  psychology. 

100.  Sources  of  Motives. — Pleasure  and  pain  are 
the  expression  of  satisfaction  or  trouble  of  the  organism 
or  of  the  mind.  By  them  nature  commands  living  beings 
to  do  such  acts  as  maintain  and  improve  existence.  They 
are  two  great  unshakable  certitudes  which  are  funda- 
mental in  the  philosophy  of  daily  life.  They  are 
stimuli  of  our  activities.  Indeed,  human  beings  have 
always  striven  for  happiness  which,  in  the  last  analysis, 
consists  in  pursuing  pleasure  and  avoiding  pain.  Men 
have  always  agreed  upon  that  conception;  their  differ- 
ences of  opinion  bear  only  upon  their  conception  of  hap- 
piness and  the  ways  of  attaining  it.  Pleasure  is  ap- 
prehended only  by  comparison  with  pain.  Change, 
therefore,  is  the  condition  which  causes  a  sensation  of 
pleasure  or  pain.  Both  pleasure  and  pain  are  character- 
ized by  discontinuity:  continued  pleasure  ceases  to  be 
pleasurable,  and  continued  pain  abates.  The  most  lasting 
pleasure  is  hope  of  happiness  because  hope  contains  every 
possibility  of  pleasure. 

Effort  and  pain  are  often  confused  because  the  result 
of  effort  is  often  the  pain  of  fatigue.  Effort  spent  in 
exercising  one's  powers  and  capabilities  or  in  pursuing 
some  ideal  may  cause  fatigue.  Nevertheless,  such  effort 
is  joyful  because  it  means  an  expansion  of  life  which 
spells  happiness.  On  the  other  hand,  circumstances  that 
constrain  the  individual  produce  restriction  of  life  and 
consequently  cause  pain,  but  not  necessarily  fatigue. 
For  example,  during  the  day,  a  workingman  may  reduce 


220  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

his  output  to  the  very  minimum  because  he  suffers  from 
being  compelled  to  do  his  work  under  objectionable  con- 
ditions. At  night,  the  same  man  may  joyfully  devote 
his  best  efforts  toward  the  development  of  a  cooperative 
store  the  success  of  which  constitutes  his  ideal.  Effort, 
therefore,  should  not  be  confused  with  pain  for  effort 
may  be  joyful. 

Pleasure  and  pain  merely  indicate  accord  or  discord 
between  man  and  his  world.  By  reaction,  they  stimulate 
desire  through  the  following  process  :  A  sensation  aroused 
by  pain  or  prospective  pleasure  awakens  emotion  and  the 
emotion,  in  turn,  suggests  a  desire.  This  desire  remains 
passive  until  we  become  conscious  of  our  power  to  sat- 
isfy it ;  then,  it  becomes  active,  that  is,  a  motive  of  action. 
Let  us  illustrate  this  by  an  elementary  case.  When  I. 
have  a  sensation  of  cold,  such  a  sensation  stimulates  an 
emotion  of  discomfort  which  suggests  a  desire  for 
warmth.  If  I  cannot  control  the  situation,  this  desire 
remains  passive;  but  if  I  can  get  warmth,  my  desire  be- 
comes active  and  I  take  the  necessary  steps  to  satisfy 
it. 

Desire  establishes  the  scale  of  values;  for  value  is  not 
intrinsic,  but  is  fixed  by  desire  alone.  Value  is  thus 
proportional  to  intensity  of  desire  and  to  power  of  will 
invoked  by  desire.  Therefore,  desire  is  the  principal 
factor  of  will  and  hence  of  acts.  Among  primitive  men, 
behavior  is  determined  by  stimuli  and  impulsive  reaction 
to  stimuli;  whereas  among  civilized  people,  it  is  deter- 
mined by  conceptions  of  morality,  the  necessity  of  fore- 
seeing consequences,  and  of  controlling  conduct  accord- 
ingly. The  consciousness  of  self-controlling  powers  for- 
merly suggested  the  belief  that  conduct  was  determined 
by  an  act  of  free  will,  which  weighed  alternatives  and 


MOTIVES  221 

reached  decisions  through  deliberation.  But  the  modern 
conception  is  that  man  rarely  reasons  at  all.  G.  Le  Bon 
recently  explained  the  multiple  nature  of  man  and  the 
foregoing  facts  as  follows : 2 

The  phenomena  manifested  by  living  beings  may  be  classi- 
fied in  three  categories : 

1.  Vital  phenomena,  as  nutrition,  respiration,  etc.; 

2.  Affective  phenomena,  as  sentiments,  passions,  etc.; 

3.  Intellectual  phenomena,  as  reflection,  reasoning,  etc. 
The  organic  life,  the  affective  life,  and  the  intellectual  life 

constitute  three  very  distinct  spheres  of  activity;  but,  al- 
though separated,  and  often  in  conflict,  they  influence  each 
other  constantly.  .  .  . 

Modern  science  has  proved  that  subconscious  phenomena 
play  in  mental  life  a  part  often  more  important  than  intel- 
lectual phenomena.  The  former  are  the  substratum  of  the 
latter.  Intellectual  life  may  be  compared  with  islets  which 
represent  the  crest  only  of  invisible  submarine  mountains. 
The  immense  mountains  represent  subconsciousness. 

Furthermore,  G.  Le  Bon  shows  that  different  logics 
govern  the  various  spheres  of  activities  mentioned  in  the 
foregoing  quotation.  In  this  study,  logic  means  not  only 
the  rational  process  of  reasoning,  but  the  peculiar  process 
of  reaching  any  conclusions  from  a  set  of  circumstances, 
however  irrational  the  process  may  be.  The  supposed 
existence  of  different  logics  is  demonstrated  by  their 
results  only.  Since  action  is  the  sole  criterion  of  a  logic, 
he  considers  as  different  the  logics  conducive  to  different 
results.  There  may  be  good  and  bad  acts,  but  there  can 
be  no  illogical  acts.  All  acts  are  conclusions  of  different 
logics,  and  conduct  must  be  judged  according  to  the 
standards  of  the  logic  to  which  it  belongs.  G.  Le  Bon 
establishes  five  forms  of  logic:  (i)  biotic  logic,  which 
1  G.  Le  Bon,  Les  Opinions  et  les  Croyances. 


222  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

governs  organic  life;  (2)  sentimental  logic,  which  gov- 
erns affective  or  emotional  life;  (3)  mystical  logic,  which 
forms  opinions  and  beliefs;  (4)  rational  logic,  which 
governs  exact  reasoning;  and  (5)  collective  logic,  which 
governs  associated  people. 

In  the  same  mind,  all  these  forms  of  logic  can  be 
superimposed  upon  one  another,  associate  with  one 
another,  or  antagonize  one  another.  Any  one  of  them 
can  occasionally  predominate,  but  never  eliminate  the 
influence  of  the  others.  For  example,  sentimental  logic 
led  an  Athenian  general,  jealous  of  his  rival,  to  declare 
war  upon  him;  mystical  logic  made  him  consult  oracles 
as  to  the  propitious  date  to  start  such  operations;  and 
rational  logic  dictated  his  tactics.  All  the  time  biotic 
logic  governed  his  organic  life.  Thus,  our  acts  vary 
according  to  the  logic  of  which  they  are  conclusions. 

These  logics  have  been  adapted  to  our  subject  of 
human  engineering  and  briefly  developed  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters. 

101.  Classification  of  Desires. — Man's  desires  are 
the  primary  motives  of  his  activity.  They  are  the 
dynamic  forces  which,  in  order  to  satisfy  his  wants, 
motivate  his  behavior.  They  rise  in  consciousness  either 
instinctively  or  from  external  stimuli.  I  classify  them 
according  to  the  respective  systems  of  logic  in  which  they 
express  themselves: 

I.   BIOTIC  OR  ORGANIC  DESIRES 

1.  Appetitive. — Hunger,  thirst,  and  sex  appetite. 

2.  Pleasurable. — Love  of  health,  love  of  ease,  love  of  sensu- 

ous pleasures,  fear  or  aversion  to  pain. 

3.  Recreative. — Play  impulse,  love  of  self-expression,  cheer- 

fulness, and  gayety. 


MOTIVES  223 

II.    AFFECTIVE  OR  SENTIMENTAL  DESIRES 

4.  Desires  for   Self-Assertion. — Joy   in   the   exercise   of 

powers,  combativity,  acquisitiveness,  pride,  self- 
respect,  love  of  liberty,  love  of  glory,  love  of  the 
game,  ambition,  envy,  and  shame. 

5.  Desires  that  Aim  at  Others. — Sympathy,  sociability,  pa- 

triotism, parental  love,  affection,  submissiveness,  hate, 
spite,  jealousy,  anger,  and  revenge. 

6.  Ethical. — Love  of  fair  play,  love  of  justice,  and  struggle 

after  right. 

7.  Esthetic. — Enjoyment  of  the  beautiful. 

III.  MYSTICAL  DESIRES 

8.  Desires  for  Faith  Assertion. — Craving   for   certitudes, 

yearning  for  imparting  opinions  and  propagating  be- 
liefs and  creeds,  illusion  building  and  realization  of 
illusions  and  ideals. 

IV.  RATIONAL  DESIRES 

9.  Intellectual. — Love  of  knowing,  of  learning,  of  impart- 

ing, and  joy  of  reasoning. 

10.  Instinctive. — Curiosity,  constructiveness,  and  workman- 

ship. 

Life  is  an  exercise  of  functions ;  therefore,  man  natu- 
rally craves  the  exercise  of  his  organism,  faculties,  and 
powers.  Joy  is  the  consequence  of  a  successful  exercise 
of  functions. 

1 02.  Outside  Influences. — Outside  forces  can  in- 
fluence conduct  by  stimulating,  directing,  or  repressing 
certain  desires ;  but  in  themselves  they  are  not  primarily 
motives.  These  forces  have  been  used  in  a  haphazard 
way  to  control  men.  They  are : 

Constraint,  as  by  subjugation,  closed  opportunities,  frus- 
tration, repression. 
Restraint,  as  by  morality,  tradition,  law,  discipline. 


224  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Direction,  as  by  suggestion,  imitation,  emulation,  com- 
mand, prestige. 

Appeal,  as  by  sympathy,  interest,  responsibility. 

Since  these  factors  are  not  primarily  motives,  their 

role  is  to  stimulate  certain  desires.    They  operate  in  the 

following  ways : 

i.  Constraint. — Says  Professor  Le  Dantec:3 

Life  has  horror  of  constraint,  but  it  adapts  itself  to  it  by 
acquiring  new  characteristics.  Every  constraint  is  followed 
by  a  state  of  consciousness  which  expresses  the  correspond- 
ing objective  variation. 

When  the  constraining  circumstances  are  not  sure  to  be 
permanent,  people  do  not  adapt  themselves  to  the  circum- 
stances, but  try  to  change  the  circumstances.  In  such  a 
case,  the  action  stimulated  by  coercion  may  be  either  de- 
structive of  the  constraining  circumstances  or  state  of 
society,  or  constructive  of  a  new  order  which  is  held 
to  afford  a  freer  expression  of  life.  The  former  course 
is  taken  by  revolutionists ;  the  latter  is  followed  by  evolu- 
tionists or  meliorists. 

Constraint  includes  every  means  of  coercion  which 
compels  men  to  live  or  to  act  contrary  to  their  judgment. 
It  determines  behavior  by  giving  opportunity  only  to  the 
lowest  organic  functions.  But,  by  reaction,  the  repres- 
sion of  spiritual  aspirations  awakens  pugnacity,  a  desire 
to  fight  the  coercive  force.  This  desire  manifests  itself 
either  explosively,  as  in  a  fit  of  anger,  a  strike,  or  a  revo- 
lution, or  by  sustained  effort  to  gain  freedom,  as  in  the 
cooperative,  trade-union,  socialistic,  or  other  reforma- 
tory movements. 

'Le  Dantec,  La  Science  de  la  Vie. 


MOTIVES  225 

The  most  irritating  form  of  coercion  and  probably  the 
chief  incentive  of  destructive  action  is  social  constraint. 
It  culminated,  for  example,  in  company-owned  towns 
where  people  had  to  conform  to  an  alien  standard  of 
living.  The  mildest  form  of  constraint  is  discipline  with- 
out consent.  These  extreme  and  the  many  intermediary 
forms  of  constraint  constitute  the  subject  matter  of  the 
history  of  labor  troubles.  Hence  constraint  is  the  chief 
destroyer  of  cooperation  since  it  invariably  incites,  by  re- 
action, a  course  of  conduct  quite  at  variance  with  that 
which  was  intended. 

2.  Restraint. — The    necessity    of    repressing    certain 
sentimental  desires  injurious  to  society  is  a  fundamental 
principle  of  collective  life.     Consequently,  certain  rules, 
incorporated  in  education,  ethics,  laws,  and  policies,  con- 
trol conduct  by  restraint.    The  restriction  in  these  cases, 
although  painful  in  the  beginning,  is  accompanied  by  a 
feeling  of  oughtness.    When  restraining  ideas  have  been 
assimilated  by  subconsciousness,  liberty  obtains  in  self- 
government.     Meanwhile,    discipline    is    supported    by 
force,  although  force  should  remain  the  last  recourse  of 
leaders.    A  personnel,  not  yet  spiritually  organized,  must 
be  convinced  that,  in  extreme  cases  of  insubordination, 
its  chief  will  not  hesitate  to  apply  a  strong  hand;  for  a 
suspicion  of  weakness  would  deprive  him  of  authority. 
Authority  is  not  a  mere  expression  of  power,  it  is  a 
complex  sentiment  of  admiration,  affection,  fear,  sub- 
missiveness,  and  faith. 

3.  Direction. — The  means  of  directing  behavior  above 
mentioned  stimulate  sentimental  desires  toward  a  given 
course  of  action  and  leave  the  man  feeling  that  he  acts 
from  free  will.     Used  to  stimulate  latent  desires,  these 
means  of  direction  urge  voluntary  action. 


226  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

4.  Appeals. — Appeals  are  merely  stimuli  of  desires 
awaiting  opportunity  for  expression.  They  are  discussed 
elsewhere,  in  our  study  of  the  stimulation  of  sentiments 
for  action,4  and  need  not  be  considered  here. 

•See  Chapter  XXIX. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

INFLUENCE  OF  OUR  ANIMAL  NATURE  ON  CONDUCT 

103.  Biotic  Logic. — Vital  phenomena,  apparently 
very  simple,  are  always  extremely  complicated.  Their 
manifestations  depend  upon  a  system  of  laws  analogous 
to  that  called  logic  which  governs  intellectual  phenomena. 
Hence  the  term  "biotic  logic"  designates  the  process  of 
organic  life.  Biotic  logic  governs  all  phenomena  of 
organic  life,  such  as  the  creation  and  maintenance  of  be- 
ings. Its  mechanism  is  unknown,  but  its  results  are  evi- 
dent. It  tends  always  to  supply  the  individual  with 
means  necessary  for  his  subsistence,  reproduction,  and 
adaptation  to  environment.  Organic  life  is  directed 
for  better  adaptation  by  unknown  forces.  These  forces 
act  as  though  they  were  possessed  by  a  reason  of  their 
own,  superior  to  ours.  The  vital  process  has  no  mechani- 
cal rigidity,  for  its  logic  constantly  changes  the  reaction 
of  the  organism  according  to  actual  necessities. 

The  cells  of  organism  perform  not  only  the  most 
complicated  operations  our  laboratories  can,  but  also 
many  more  difficult  which  laboratories  cannot  repeat. 
By  unknown  means,  the  cells  construct  those  varied  and 
complicated  organic  products  which  nourish  the  body 
and  know  how  to  dissociate  the  stabler  product  like 
table  salt,  how  to  extract  nitrogen  from  ammoniacal 
salts  and  phosphorus  from  phosphates.  It  is  through 
biotic  logic  that  the  insect  knows  how  to  protect  its  eggs 

227 


228  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

and  provide  for  its  young,  that  bees  organize  and  run 
their  community,  and  that  the  bird  learns  how  to  fly. 

Biotic  logic  is  not  limited  to  the  function  of  organic 
life  only;  it  influences  behavior  also.  Since  sentiments 
are  expressions  of  life,  it  is  natural  that  biotic  logic  influ- 
ences sentiment  and  consequently  conduct.  Indeed,  dis- 
comfort or  illness  turns  gayety  into  sorrow,  kindness  into 
wickedness,  good  will  into  indifference;  whereas  com- 
fort and  health  promote  optimistic  and  energetic  disposi- 
tions. Beneath  the  visible  surface  of  things,  there  is  a 
whole  world  of  unseen  forces,  inaccessible  to  reason,  but 
powerful  enough  to  influence  our  conduct. 

104.  Pleasure  as  a  Dynamic  Factor. — Pleasure  in 
itself  is  a  stimulant  to  activity  because  the  effect  of  pleas- 
ure on  vital  functions  of  the  organism  is  agreeable.  The 
role  of  pleasure  as  a  dynamic  factor  has  been  pointed 
out  by  Professor  W.  D.  Scott  as  follows :  * 

Pleasure  secured  in  and  from  work  is  the  best  preventive 
and  balm  for  tired  muscles  and  jaded  brains.  Dislike  or 
discomfort,  on  the  other  hand,  adds  to  toil  by  sapping  the 
strength  of  the  worker. 

Here  pleasure  enters.  Its  effects  on  the  expenditure  of 
energy  is  to  make  muscle  and  brain  cells  more  available  for 
consumption,  and  particularly  to  hasten  the  process  of 
restoration  or  recuperation.  The  hastening  may  be  so  great 
that  recuperation  keeps  pace  with  the  consumption  conse- 
quent on  efficient  labor,  with  the  result  that  there  is  little  or 
no  exhaustion.  This  is  in  physiological  terms  the  reason 
why  a  person  can  do  more  when  he  "enjoys"  his  work  or 
play,  and  can  continue  his  efforts  for  a  longer  period  with- 
out fatigue. 

And  further,  after  showing  how  pleasure  becomes  a  mo- 
*W.  D.  Scott,  Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business. 


MOTIVES  FROM  OUR  ANIMAL  NATURE    229 

tive  of  activity  through  organic  influence,  he  shows  the 
influence  of  pleasure  on  sentiments : 

A  man  is  said  to  be  suggestible  when  he  comes  to  con- 
clusions or  acts  without  due  deliberation.  Suggestion,  then, 
is  nothing  but  the  mental  condition  which  causes  us  to  be- 
lieve and  respond  without  the  normal  amount  of  weighing 
of  evidence.  While  in  a  suggestive  condition  we  are  credu- 
lous, responsive,  and  impulsive.  Such  a  mental  condition  is 
favored  and  induced  by  pleasure.  Discomfort  or  dissatis- 
faction with  the  conditions  or  surroundings  prompts  the 
opposing  attitude ;  we  become  suspicious  and  slow  to  act  or 
believe.  The  pleased  and  satisfied  employee  is  open  to  the 
suggestions  of  foreman  and  manager  and  responds  with  an 
enthusiasm  impossible  of  generation  in  one  dissatisfied  from 
any  cause.  Pleasure  and  a  particular  attitude  of  body  are 
indissolubly  united. 

Formerly  man  lived  in  what  may  be  called  a  "pain 
economy."  He  worked  to  escape  pain  but  now  he  works, 
not  alone  to  escape  poverty  and  hunger,  but  to  secure 
pleasure  and  joy. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

INFLUENCE  OF  SENTIMENT  ON  CONDUCT 

105.  Characteristics  of  Sentiment. — The  logic  of 
sentiment  is  the  interaction  of  stimuli  and  sentiments 
which  terminates  with  a  feeling  conducive  to  action. 
Sentimental  desires  or  sentiments  are  most  important  in 
motivating  our  conduct  because  they  are  dynamic.  Senti- 
mental logic  obeys  certain  laws;  but,  since  it  operates 
without  our  being  conscious  of  the  process,  we  know  only 
its  conclusions,  not  the  process  itself.  The  logic  of  senti- 
ments was  formed  at  first  by  the  tendencies  of  species  to 
continue  habits  which  experience  had  proved  were  vital 
to  existence.  These  tendencies,  necessary  to  self-preser- 
vation, became  a  race  inheritance  before  there  was 
intelligence.  Indeed,  all  beings  had  feeling  before  reason. 
Directed  by  feelings  alone,  animals  live  their  destinies. 
A  mere  hen  knows  perfectly  without  reasoning  how  to 
raise  and  protect  her  chicks.  The  sentiments  of  a  race 
are  always  the  same;  they  only  seem  to  change  when 
the  object  of  interest  is  changed.  For  example,  the  same 
love  of  liberty  is  at  work  among  revolutionists  who  try 
to  overthrow  an  emperor,  socialists  who  propagate  their 
doctrine,  democrats  who  fight  autocracy,  feminists  who 
seek  emancipation  of  women,  and  those  who  teach  how 
to  free  humanity  from  superstition,  disease,  fear,  etc. 
The  sentiment  is  the  same,  the  kind  of  liberty  only  is 
different.  Because  the  object  of  sentiment  changes,  the 

230 


MOTIVES  FROM  SENTIMENT  231 

manifestations  of  sentiments  change,  just  as  organisms 
adapt  themselves  to  their  surroundings. 

Character  is  an  aggregate  of  sentiments  which  deter- 
mines the  mode  of  behavior  of  individuals  and  races. 
Character,  not  intelligence,  differentiates  individuals  as 
well  as  nations.  Because  different  traits  predominate  in 
different  individuals,  the  logic  of  sentiment  varies  with 
every  individual  and  with  every  group.  Race  traits,  such 
as  self-reliance,  sporting  disposition,  confidence  in  effort, 
contempt  for  abstract  speculations,  are  characteristics  of 
the  American  people.  These  traits  influence  our  senti- 
mental logic  and  consequently  our  national  behavior. 
Self-reliance  alone  makes  the  great  difference  which  dis- 
tinguishes social  life  in  America  from  social  life  in  other 
countries  where  the  government  is  credited  with  the 
power  to  solve  all  social  problems. 

Since  we  are  unconscious  of  how  the  logic  of  senti- 
ment reaches  conclusions,  we  are  unaware  of  our  senti- 
ments. Our  acts  are  the  test  of  our  actual  sentiments. 
Our  true  self  is  expressed  by  conduct,  not  by  words.  I 
know  a  soldier  who  before  the  war  declared  that,  if  war 
broke  out,  he  would  certainly  desert  rather  than  expose 
his  life  at  the  front,  because  he  did  not  see  any  reason 
to  fight.  A  very  few  months  later,  as  the  fearful  event 
took  place,  he  did  not  desert,  but  faithfully  complied 
with  his  duty.  Moreover,  he  was  wounded  twice;  and 
each  time,  after  recovery,  he  asked  to  be  allowed  to  go 
back  again.  By  his  bravery,  he  won  the  Croix  de  Guerre. 
Like  most  of  us,  he  did  not  know  himself ;  his  sentiments 
led  him  into  a  course  of  action  which  his  intellect  disap- 
proved. Men  do  not  suspect  what  they  can  do  until  they 
are  rightly  motivated. 

The  subconscious  self  is  not  entirely  inherited.     It  is 


232  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

also  the  store  of  our  past  experience.  It  is  the  source 
of  intuition,  by  means  of  which  we  reach  an  immediate 
conclusion  without  conscious  reasoning.  When  the  im- 
pressions of  experience  have  been  sufficiently  repeated  or 
are  striking,  such  conclusions  may  have  practical  value. 
This  is  the  logic  of  the  man  of  action  who  dislikes  rea- 
soning. 

The  logic  of  sentiment  or  sentimental  logic  is  still  a 
new  field  of  psychology,  but  it  has  taken  such  an  impor- 
tant place  that  it  is  likely  to  become  one  of  the  main 
sources  of  progress  in  human  engineering. 

106.  Independence  of  Feeling  and  Reason. — Senti- 
mental logic  keeps  no  account  of  reasons,  contradictions, 
or  principles.  The  rules  which  govern  the  logic  of  senti- 
ment are  quite  distinct  from  those  which  govern  intel- 
lectual reasoning.  It  follows  that  intelligence  cannot 
understand,  interpret,  or  judge  the  acts  dictated  by  senti- 
ments. A  great  mistake  of  the  old  psychology  was  to 
try  to  explain  by  reason  the  phenomena  of  sentimental 
logic.  This  was  impossible.  Reason  and  sentiment  are 
irreducible  to  common  terms.  As  Pascal  said,  "the  heart 
has  reasons  which  reason  does  not  know."  Since  senti- 
mental logic  varies  according  to  the  character  of  the 
individual,  its  rules  are  not  universal  like  those  of  rational 
logic. 

A  characteristic  of  sentimental  logic  is  to  bring  about 
a  decision  without  deliberation  or  without  exhaustive 
consideration.  Nevertheless,  after  a  course  of  action 
has  been  started  or  accomplished  in  such  a  manner,  rea- 
sons are  invariably  put  forth  to  justify  and  sustain  the 
conduct.  In  fact,  in  spite  of  the  ever  prevailing  sway 
of  sentiment,  reason  has  never  been  invoked  so  much  as 
it  is  to-day  to  justify  the  contradictions  of  our  conduct. 


MOTIVES  FROM  SENTIMENT  233 

The  contradiction  between  two  modes  of  behavior 
caused  by  a  given  feeling  is  exemplified  by  the  following 
fact  that  often  occurs  in  industrial  life.  A  workingman, 
who  bitterly  complains  of  autocratic  management  which 
hurts  his  pride,  will  adopt  the  same  autocratic  policy  as 
soon  as  he  has  been  made  a  boss.  He  will  give  many 
reasons  to  justify  his  change  of  attitude,  but  the  real 
cause  is  that  the  exercise  of  authority  stimulates  his 
sentiment  of  pride.  The  contradiction  between  feeling 
and  reason  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  a  "bourgeois" 
becomes  a  socialist.  His  sentiment  of  justice  has  be- 
clouded his  understanding  and  concealed  the  irrationality 
of  his  conduct.  The  boss  who,  because  it  hurts  his  pride, 
refuses  to  accept  from  his  subordinate  a  good  suggestion 
supported  by  reason,  is  an  everyday  example  of  the  con- 
flict between  reason  and  sentiment. 

107.  Function  of  Sentiment. — Does  sentiment  play 
a  part  in  industry?  It  has  been  often  repeated  that  sen- 
timent has  no  place  in  business.  Sentiment  has  little  place 
indeed  in  the  technique  of  business,  since  the  object  of 
technique  is  to  master  laws  and  facts.  Neither  has  it  any 
place  in  exchange  of  established  values,  which  is  gov- 
erned by  the  principle  of  equivalency.  Nevertheless, 
production  and  consumption  are  rooted  in  sentiment. 
The  needs  of  man  for  mere  subsistence  are  prompted  by 
his  biotic  desires;  but  his  wants,  which  constitute  by  far 
the  largest  part  of  consumption,  are  sheer  sentimental 
desires  or  biotic  desires  stimulated  by  the  influence  of 
sentiment.  As  to  the  producer,  he  labors  not  only  to 
supply  his  wants  but  also  to  satisfy  his  purely  sentimental 
desires  for  self-expression.  Moreover,  his  station  in  life, 
determined  by  his  relations  to  his  fellow  men,  gets  its 
value  from  their  sentiment  toward  him. 


234  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

The  motives  of  our  conduct  are  elaborated  by  senti- 
mental logic.  Sentiment,  therefore,  is  the  main  de- 
terminant of  behavior.  By  stimulating  sentiment,  the 
conduct  of  men  may  be  controlled.  Give  a  man  respon- 
sibility, his  constructiveness  awakens;  his  interest  and 
attitude  toward  duty  change  suddenly.  Give  him  credit 
for  his  contribution,  his  pride  and  courage  are  stimu- 
lated. Secure  him  the  full  value  of  his  service,  his  in- 
stinct of  possession  and  his  parental  love  are  appealed 
to,  and  his  good  will  is  secured  for  cooperation.  On  the 
other  hand,  belittle  a  man,  compel  him  to  move  in  a 
narrow  way,  ignore  his  effort,  scorn  his  occupation, 
despise  his  social  situation,  deprive  him  of  what  he  thinks 
belongs  to  him,  and  he  will  become  a  passive  agent  moved 
only  by  hunger  until  he  later  becomes  a  revolutionist. 
His  apathy  will  allow  him  to  render  just  the  minimum 
service  which  will  keep  him  at  the  job.  The  democratic 
policy,  which  consists  in  bringing  into  action  the  best 
potentialities  in  the  individual,  is  essentially  to  stimulate 
the  right  sentiments,  as,  for  example,  the  joy  of  exer- 
cising power. 

We  must  not  assume,  however,  that  full  satisfaction 
of  any  desire  is  necessary  or  desirable.  On  the  contrary, 
the  complexity  of  our  social  life  demands  constant  re- 
pression of  evil  and  direction  of  good  instincts.  That  is 
why  sentiment  cannot  be  the  only  factor  of  behavior. 
It  has  been  a  safe  guide  in  the  life  of  animal,  but  it  has 
ceased  to  be  reliable  for  civilized  man. 

The  sentimental  atmosphere  in  which  an  individual 
lives  is  of  greatest  moment  in  shaping  his  personality. 
Constructive  and  destructive  sentiments  struggle  for 
supremacy.  Those  that  are  exercised  and  stimulated 
most  win.  The  only  way  to  overcome  a  destructive  sen- 


MOTIVES  FROM  SENTIMENT  235 

timent  is  to  create  a  stronger  emotion  by  means  of 
constructive  sentiment.  Therefore,  to  get  a  favorable 
attitude  among  a  personnel,  the  chances  for  the  sugges- 
tion of  pessimistic  ideas  should  be  minimized;  while  the 
whole  environment  should  suggest  wholesome  joy  and  a 
life  worth  living.  Sentiment  should  be  cultivated  so  as 
to  establish  an  atmosphere  of  contentment  and  sympathy 
in  order  to  create  an  adequate  agency  to  dispel  antagon- 
ism and  hatred.  Sympathy  overcomes  antipathy  as  sun- 
shine dispels  darkness  because  sympathy  and  antipathy 
are  expressions  of  the  same  logic.  No  argument  can 
destroy  bad  feeling,  any  more  than  sound  waves  can  pro- 
duce light;  sentiment  alone  avails. 

1 08.  Field  of  Sentiment. — The  love  of  the  game  is 
a  sentimental,  enthusiastic  disposition  which  induces  a 
man  to  look  at  his  accomplishment  as  an  end  in  itself. 
His  business  becomes  sport  and  develops  passion  for 
attainment.  Professor  W.  D.  Scott  says :  * 

For  some  men,  buying  and  selling  is  as  great  a  delight  as 
felling  a  deer.  For  others  the  manufacture  of  goods  is  as 
great  a  joy  as  landing  a  trout.  For  such  a  man  enthusiasm 
for  his  work  is  unfailing  and  industry  unremittent.  He  is 
suited  to  his  task  as  is  the  cub  to  the  fight,  the  puppy  to  the 
chase,  or  the  hunter  to  the  killing  of  the  game.  His  labor 
always  appeals  to  him  as  the  thing  of  supremest  moment. 
His  interest  in  it  is  such  that  it  never  fails  to  inspire  others 
by  contagion.  For  such  a  man  laziness  or  indifference  in 
business  seems  anomalous,  while  industry  and  enthusiasm 
are  as  natural  as  the  air  he  breathes  and  as  inexhaustible  as 
the  air  itself.  .  .  .  Potential  geniuses  exist  in  large  numbers 
but  fail  of  discovery  because  they  are  not  developed.  In- 
stincts manifest  themselves  only  in  the  presence  of  certain 
stimulating  conditions.  They  are  developed  by  exercise  and 
stimulated  further  by  the  success  attending1  upon  their  exer- 

1  W.  D.  Scott,  Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business. 


236  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

cise.  .  .  .  The  conditions  essential  for  developing  the  love 
of  the  game  in  business  may  be  summarized  under  three 
heads : 

First,  a  man  will  develop  a  love  of  the  game  in  any  busi- 
ness in  which  he  is  led  to  assume  a  responsibility,  to  take 
personal  initiative,  to  feel  that  he  is  creating  something 
worth  while,  and  that  he  is  expressing  himself  in  his  work. 
The  second  condition  is  social  prestige.  .  .  .  The  executive 
seeking  to  stimulate  love  of  the  game  among  his  workmen 
should  in  some  way  see  that  social  approval  attaches  itself 
to  the  work  as  such.  .  .  .  The  workman  must  be  given  an 
interest  in  the  work  as  well  as  in  the  wage.  The  third  con- 
dition ...  is  that  the  work  itself  must  appeal  to  the  indi- 
vidual as  something  important  and  useful.  The  dignity  of 
labor  demands  that  the  workman  should  respect  the  work 
of  his  hands.  .  .  .  The  boy  who  goes  direct  into  work  from 
the  public  school  is  not  likely  to  coordinate  his  task  with  the 
general  activity  of  the  establishment,  and  he  is  not  likely  to 
see  how  he  is  in  any  way  contributing  to  the  welfare  of 
humanity  by  his  work.  He  needs  to  be  shown  how  each  line 
of  industry  and  profession  serves  a  great  function,  has  an 
interesting  history,  and  is  vitally  connected  with  many  of  the 
most  important  human  interests.  He  should  learn  to  see 
how  the  different  cogs  are  essential  and  worthy  factors  in 
the  total  process. 

Perhaps  a  few  men  only  can  develop  the  love  of  the 
game  to  the  highest  enthusiastic  pitch ;  nevertheless,  these 
few  are  very  desirable  for  the  inspiration  which,  by  con- 
tagion, they  spread  all  around  them.  An  occasional  ap- 
peal to  the  love  of  the  game  is  made  by  many  important 
houses  which  use  competition  as  part  of  their  regular 
equipment  for  handling  and  energizing  men.  Professor 
W.  D.  Scott  states:  "The  most  industrious  and  ambi- 
tious men  are  stimulated  by  competition;  with  the  less 
industrious  such  a  stimulation  is  often  wonder-working 
in  its  effects." 


MOTIVES  FROM  SENTIMENT  237 

Sentiment  is  to  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  create  an 
atmosphere  of  responsiveness  and  to  stimulate  action 
whenever  a  feeling  of  value  or  a  hope  for  enjoyment  may 
be  induced.  So,  the  field  of  sentiment  in  industry  may 
be  outlined  as  follows : 

1.  An  appeal  to  sentiment  can  supplement  conviction 
and  prompt  men  to  do  what  they  already  know  they 
ought  to  do.    They  often  do  not  act  because  there  is  some 
negative  feeling,  such  as,  for  example,  distrust,  or  because 
there  is  no  desire  attached  to  the  act.     Desire  is  not 
necessarily  selfish,  but  every  act  must  be  motivated  by 
some  desire,  either  selfish  or  altruistic. 

2.  Sentiment  is  the  first  recourse  to  secure  an  immedi- 
ate response,  particularly  when  there   is  no  time   for 
deliberation,  because  sentiment  prompts  action  without 
delay. 

3.  The   language   of    sentiment    is   particularly   well 
understood  by  collectivities. 

4.  Sentiment  is  the  ground  in  which  vocational  aspira- 
tions and  ambitions  are  rooted.     Indeed,  no  one  would 
become  or  would  like  to  be  anything,  unless  some  feeling 
of  value  is  attached  to  his  position.     There  is  no  hope 
for  one  who  looks  on  his  occupation  as  a  curse  or  a 
makeshift.     The  school,  institutions,  and  society  should 
suggest  that  it  is  a  privilege  and  honor  to  be  a  working- 
man  in  the  new  order  of  industry. 

5.  A  feeling  of  mutual  confidence  is  essential  to  loyalty 
in  every  form  of  efficient  organization. 

6.  Readiness  to  cooperate  is  founded  upon  a  com- 
munity of  means  to  realize  one's  desires,  even  if  these 
desires  are  particular.     If,  then,  a  common  sentiment 
approves  a  common  means  to  realize  a  collective  desire, 
cooperation  results  as  a  matter  of  course.    Cooperation 


238  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

is  based  upon  a  sentimental  adherence  to  collective  aims 
and  means. 

7.  The  love  of  the  game,  the  love  of  peace  and  order, 
and  the  love  of  one's  place  are  sheer  sentiments,  since 
they  are  expressions  of  love.     They  appear  as  a  logical 
response  to  the  right  stimuli.     A  cause  of  labor  turnover 
is  certainly  the  absence  of  anything  to  love  in  any  place; 
everywhere,  everything  is  alien  and  indifferent  and  fails 
to  retain  the  men. 

8.  Discipline  is  an  expression  of  the  instinct  of  sub- 
missiveness.    It  hurts,  to  a  degree,  the  sentiments  of  pride 
and  love  of  liberty;  therefore  it  should  be  stimulated  by 
a   feeling  of  increased  power  obtained  through  stand- 
ardized rule. 

9.  The  success  of  the  whole  welfare  movement  with 
its  different  aims  and  purposes  depends  entirely  upon 
its  ability  to  meet  the  desires  of  labor.     In  no  other 
field  is  cooperation  more  necessary  to  attain  satisfactory 
results.     A  betterment  work  may  be  logically  desirable; 
but  if  it  is  not  wanted,  its  installation  may  be  harmful 
because  it  would  arouse  suspicion. 

10.  Better  citizenship  depends  essentially  upon  the  love 
of  one's  country  and  its  institutions.    It  is,  therefore,  an 
expression  of  sheer  sentiment,  the  power  of  which  varies 
according  to  the  sentimental  adherence  of  the  person  to 
the  industrial  and  political  institutions  of  his  country. 

These  few  cases  suffice  to  show  the  vastness  and  im- 
portance of  the  field  of  sentiment  in  business,  our  study 
of  which  is  far  from  being  exhaustive.  Notwithstanding 
the  constant  interaction  between  sentiments  and  ideas, 
the  fact  is  that  all  our  activities  are  governed  primarily 
by  an  emotional  process,  that  is,  by  sentimental  logic,  a 
logic  which  reason  is  unable  to  understand. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

INFLUENCE  OF  BELIEFS  ON  CONDUCT 

109.  Mystical  Nature. — Man  has  always  been 
anxious  to  know  the  meaning  of  life  and  has  been  ready 
to  believe  in  the  assistance  of  unseen  powers.  His  hope- 
ful craving  for  certitudes  has  developed,  according  to  a 
particular  logic,  all  those  forms  of  religion,  politics,  and 
doctrine  which  bring  visions  of  happiness.  This  logic, 
called  mystical  logic,  governs  the  mystical  nature  of  man. 
Our  mystical  nature  leads  us  to  believe  that  supernatural 
or  powerful  virtues  belong  to  a  being,  an  object,  or  a 
doctrine.  It  manifests  itself  by  beliefs,  more  or  less 
vague  or  definite,  which  change  to  suit  the  necessities 
and  wishes  of  the  believers.  A  belief  is  supported  by 
faith  only.  The  faith  of  the  mystic  is  limitless  and  un- 
affected by  reason  or  criticism.  The  field  of  mysticism 
decreases  and  specializes  as  science  advances.  At  present, 
it  specializes  in  reformatory  movements.  Nevertheless, 
since  the  regions  where  science  has  penetrated  are  very 
restricted,  whereas  our  aspirations  know  of  no  limita- 
tions, mysticism  will  still  dominate  humanity  for  a  long 
time  to  come. 

The  "will  to  believe"  is  inherent  in  human  nature;  it 
is  as  ineradicable  as  hunger  and  love  and  often  is  as  im- 
perative. Belief  seems  to  be  spiritual  nutriment  for  the 
mind,  as  food  is  for  the  body.  Civilized  man  cannot  go 
without  belief  any  more  than  primitive  man  can.  Belief 

239 


240  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

is  a  universal  disposition  as  well  as  a  universal  need. 
No  rational  element  enters  into  the  formation  of  beliefs; 
therefore,  mystical  logic  shows  contradictions  just  as 
sentimental  logic  does;  but,  unlike  the  latter,  it  is  con- 
scious and  admits  of  deliberation.  The  believer  does 
not  imagine  he  accepts  any  proposition  without  evidence, 
for  he  argues  constantly.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  the  evi- 
dence that  satisfies  him  that  the  depth  of  his  credulity 
appears. 

Knowledge  develops  judgment,  but  belief  controls 
behavior.  Belief  possesses  the  marvelous  faculty  of  cre- 
ating illusions  which  dominate  imagination.  Man  will 
sacrifice  his  life  to  defend  them.  We  have  seen  examples 
of  such  a  disposition  in  the  study  of  cooperatives,  social- 
ism, syndicalism,  and  sect.  A  strong  belief  inspires  un- 
shakable certitude.  The  socialist  and  anarchist  are 
animated  solely  by  a  mystical  belief  in  their  respective 
doctrines.  Such  certitudes  have  commanded  most  his- 
torical events,  as,  for  example,  the  belief  in  the  demo- 
cratic idea  which  forced  America  to  participate  in  the 
last  war.  One  of  the  most  constant  effects  of  certitudes 
derived  from  beliefs  is  the  creation  of  certain  moral  prin- 
ciples, more  or  less  lasting,  but  very  powerful  in  develop- 
ing a  new  self,  and,  as  a  consequence,  new  conduct  cor- 
responding to  the  new  self.  Belief  in  the  power  of 
unions,  for  example,  has  created  a  moral  obligation  to 
join.  Alone  the  belief  in  democracy  can  open  the  door 
to  the  committee  system  of  management. 

A  characteristic  of  belief  is  intolerance.  Mystical 
certitudes  are  always  accompanied  by  the  desire  to  impose 
them.  A  man  is  unwilling  to  get  along  with  another  who 
does  not  share  his  beliefs.  A  radical  and  a  conservative 
differ  only  in  their  beliefs;  but  these  beliefs  are  so  con- 


MOTIVES  FROM  BELIEFS  241 

flicting  that  the  destruction  of  one  of  the  parties  often 
seems  to  them  the  only  solution  of  their  difference.  The 
men  who  have  destroyed  or  built  civilizations  were  always 
possessed  by  mystical  certitudes. 

Mystical  logic  often  dictates  a  course  of  conduct  quite 
opposed  to  our  most  evident  interests.  Belief  in  the  ex- 
clusive excellence  of  any  economic  theory  leads  men  to 
do  things  contrary  to  their  own  interests.  Any  belief  in 
a  simple  idea  which  disregards  many  of  the  forces  im- 
plied in  industry  is  of  that  sort.  From  the  psychological 
point  of  view,  the  commodity  theory  of  labor,  the 
efficiency  theory  of  labor,  profit  sharing,  belief  in  spon- 
taneous self-government  of  the  people,  collectivism,  syn- 
dicalism are  all  mystical  beliefs.  In  every  case,  a 
one-sided  idea  is  supposed  in  itself  to  have  saving  power. 

no.  Belief  vs.  Knowledge. — When  science  demon- 
strated that  all  phenomena  are  determined  by  rigid  laws 
instead  of  by  mysterious  and  capricious  wills,  our  con- 
ceptions of  the  universe  were  revplutionized.  In  matters 
of  belief,  there  is  no  verification  possible.  In  matters  of 
knowledge,  the  possibility  of  verification  is  the  rule,  and 
demonstration  defeats  objections.  A  rational  truth  is 
impersonal  and  the  facts  which  sustain  it  have  a  common 
value  for  everybody.  Beliefs,  on  the  contrary,  since  they 
are  founded  upon  sentimental  and  mystical  conceptions, 
are  personal. 

No  scientist,  however,  is  free  from  belief.  Indeed,  in 
matters  of  phenomena  still  incompletely  known,  he  is 
compelled  to  formulate  an  hypothesis;  that  is  to  say,  a 
belief,  which  the  authority  of  their  author  alone  makes 
acceptable.  In  cases  of  well-studied  phenomena,  we  are 
frequently  forced  to  admit  rational  truths,  as  beliefs, 
because  we  cannot  verify  all  truths.  Our  scientific  educa- 


242  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

tion  is  but  an  act  of  faith  toward  the  views  mainly 
supported  by  the  scientific  authorities.  Knowledge  is 
sometimes  supported  by  experiments  in  order  to  show  to 
the  student  the  possibility  of  verifying  the  affirmations 
stated  and  to  teach  him  that  observation  of  facts  is  the 
only  means  of  certainty.  Granted  the  impossibility  of 
verifying  more  than  a  small  part  of  the  whole  of  knowl- 
edge imparted  to  us,  authority  remains  our  principal 
guide;  and  so  most  scientific  truths  are  assimilated  like 
mystical  beliefs.  In  other  words,  they  are  propagated 
by  the  influence  of  prestige,  affirmation,  suggestion,  and 
contagion;  that  is  to  say,  by  an  irrational  process,  quite 
apart  from  a  rational  ascertainment  but  much  more 
powerful. 

The  mass  opposes  no  resistance  to  the  suggestions  of 
its  groups.  It  accepts  the  beliefs  supported  by  its  authori- 
ties or  by  the  many  and  obeys  these  beliefs  without  ques- 
tion. For  example,  the  theory  of  propagation  of  disease 
by  microbes  has  not  been  verified  by  layman;  neverthe- 
less, he  believes  it  and  modifies  his  daily  habits  accord- 
ingly. So  a  belief  is  not  necessarily  an  error;  it  differs 
from  rational  knowledge  only  in  the  manner  in  which 
it  has  been  assimilated  with  the  self. 

in.  Development  of  Beliefs. — No  belief  springs  up 
overnight.  It  develops  by  growth  and  evolution,  by 
mental  contagion,  and  by  repeated  suggestion.  When  not 
continually  entertained,  a  belief  soon  disappears.  No 
belief  is  lasting  unless  supported  by  symbols,  such  as 
images,  statues,  edifices,  institutions,  emblems,  codes, 
sacred  books,  or  the  like.  A  belief  becomes  really  popu- 
lar only  when  it  has  been  symbolized  by  a  concrete  object 
or  by  a  person  who  commands  veneration. 

A  belief  can  persist  as  long  as  it  sustains  hope  for 


MOTIVES  FROM  BELIEFS  243 

happiness.  When  the  vanity  of  a  belief  has  been  recog- 
nized, a  belief  vanishes;  but  imperishable  hope  immedi- 
ately suggests  another  belief  through  which  hope  will 
reassert  itself.  In  the  present  period  of  transition,  while 
waiting  for  a  new  universal  creed  which  has  power  to 
subordinate  particular  interests  to  general  interest,  so- 
ciety is  divided  into  a  number  of  groups.  These  groups 
are  governed  by  short-lived,  sectarian  beliefs  which  will 
cause  them  to  fight  one  another  until  they  can  agree  on  a 
general  creed.  In  most  countries  of  Europe,  two  groups 
fight  for  a  monarchy  or  a  republic  and  they  will  fight 
until  the  belief  in  one  of  these  regimes  has  been  generally 
adopted.  In  America,  belief  in  the  republican  form  of 
government  is  general,  while  the  fight  goes  on  between 
autocracy  and  democracy  in  industry.  The  prestige  of 
autocracy  is  vanishing;  hope  in  democracy  is  rapidly 
growing.  When  a  belief  falls  into  discredit,  a  crisis  en- 
sues during  which  the  symbols  of  this  discredited  belief 
are  violently  overthrown.  All  revolutions  are  caused  by 
a  change  of  belief.  When  the  soldiers  of  Russia  ceased 
to  believe  in  autocracy  by  divine  right,  all  the  institutions 
established  on  the  principle  of  autocracy  were  very  soon 
destroyed. 

Creator  of  laws,  morals,  customs,  religions,  politics, 
and  of  all  the  great  movements  of  civilization,  mystical 
logic  has  built  all  the  illusions  which  have  ever  led  man- 
kind. Under  its  action,  millions  have  experienced  joy 
or  sorrow,  and  in  the  hope  of  realizing  their  beliefs  all 
have  been  sustained  in  constant  endeavor.  And  man  will 
go  on  ready  to  sacrifice  everything  to  make  his  creed 
prevail. 

Tracing  the  action  of  mysticism  through  all  the  mani- 
festations of  social  life,  we  see  its  influence  in  arts,  litera- 


244  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ture,  politics,  industry,  and  healing.  But  it  is  in  politics 
that  it  is  the  most  conspicuous.  The  extremists  of  all 
sects,  including  the  laboring  class  and  the  reactionist 
employers,  live  in  sheer  mysticism. 

112.  Field  of  Mystical  Beliefs. — Every  organiza- 
tion, as  well  as  every  civilization,  is  governed  by  the 
interaction  of  the  forces  of  natural,  economic,  political, 
and  spiritual  laws  as  well  as  by  the  forces  of  many 
diverging  interests.  The  interpretation  of  these  laws 
varies  from  time  to  time,  and  we  have  to  change  our 
organizations  in  agreement.  Necessity  and  opportunity, 
which  direct  evolution,  involve  so  many  factors  that  we 
cannot  expect  to  get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  whole 
of  our  world.  Therefore,  to  make  it  possible  to  satisfy 
in  some  measure  our  inherent  craving  for  explanation, 
we  leave  out  of  account  some  facts  in  order  to  get  an 
approximation  of  actual  truth.  It  is  thus  in  regard  to 
collective  life.  We  want  to  know  everything  about  what 
we  are  more  or  less  directly  connected  with ;  but  because 
of  the  complexity  of  the  social  phenomena  and  because 
of  defective  science,  we  must  simplify  most  of  our  con- 
ceptions of  the  world  and  adopt  them  as  mystical  beliefs. 

As  to  fundamental  principles,  we  need  to  believe  in 
democracy.  We  must  believe  in  personal,  industrial  and 
social  progress.  We  must  believe  that  cooperation  and 
service  are  the  only  source  of  prosperity  and  progress. 
Labor  must  believe  in  a  leadership  of  superiority.  It 
must  believe  that  the  necessities  of  carrying  on  business 
imply  certain  discipline  and  restrictions.  It  must  believe 
that  progress  depends  upon  competition.  It  must  be- 
lieve that  no  society  can  subsist  unless  its  laws  are  obeyed, 
for  the  real  power  of  codes  is  not  in  armed  force  but  in 
belief.  As  to  minor  principles,  all  industrial  people  need 


MOTIVES  FROM  BELIEFS  245 

correct  opinions  based  on  facts  and  principles  about  every 
subject  related  to  their  interests,  as,  for  example: 

1.  The  aims,  resources,  and  limitations  of  industry. 

2.  The  meaning  of  capital,  profits,  and  wages. 

3.  The  relation  between  income  and  service. 

4.  The  scale  of  wages  and  hours  of  work. 

5.  Scientific  management. 

6.  Mutual  loyalty  and  justice. 

7.  Liberty. 

8.  Employment  conditions. 

9.  Working  conditions. 

10.  Industrial  and  social  institutions. 

1 1.  Cost  of  living  and  distribution. 

12.  Relation  of  prosperity  to  personal  efficiency. 

13.  Science. 

14.  Social  progress. 

15.  Proper  diet. 

1 6.  Proper  recreation. 

17.  Education  and  opportunity. 

18.  Functions  of  government,  etc. 

A  haphazard  formation  of  contradictory  opinions  about 
these  subjects  necessarily  constitutes  an  endless  source  of 
trouble.  So  long  as  the  parties  involved  in  the  contest 
have  no  common  valuation  of  the  matters  in  dispute,  there 
is  no  salvation;  for  no  right  exists  unless  it  is  supported 
by  public  opinion.  The  first  step  toward  cooperation  is  to 
establish  mutual  understanding  among  social  groups  and 
to  build  a  common  opinion  about  things.  Acceptance  of 
the  right  of  ownership  and  the  legitimacy  of  profit  cannot 
be  forced  upon  unbelievers,  but  they  can  be  reaffirmed  in 
the  conscience  of  man  in  proportion  as  they  are  puri- 
fied from  all  elements  of  suspicion  and  recognized  as  the 
instrument  for  the  maintenance  and  development  of  the 


246  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

means  of  production  and  of  industrial  and  social  progress. 
Like  a  new  enterprise,  a  period  of  transition  and  prog- 
gress  implies  necessarily  some  uncertainty,  since  we  move 
toward  an  unprecedented  order.  The  unknown  compels 
risk.  It  is  our  faith  in  our  ability  to  succeed  which  first 
supports  every  venture.  Reason  guides  the  development 
of  our  enterprises,  but  mystical  belief  sustains  our  faith 
and  urges  us  to  go  ahead.  Although  ideals  may  be  formed 
by  reasoning,  they  become  powerful  only  after  being  ac- 
cepted as  mystical  beliefs.  Most  of  them  have  no  other 
ground  than  belief.  By  intuition  we  imagine  new  possi- 
bilities which,  until  they  can  be  demonstrated  by  experi- 
ence, are  supported  by  faith  alone. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

INFLUENCE  OF  REASON  ON  CONDUCT 

113.  Intellectual  Nature. — Rational  logic,  com- 
monly called  logic,  is  the  process  of  correct  reasoning 
which  produces  a  natural  and  inevitable  conclusion  from 
any  set  of  circumstances  or  facts.  Unlike  biotic  and  senti- 
mental logics,  rational  logic  operates  in  consciousness. 
That  is  why,  until  recently,  reason  was  considered  the 
only  source  of  determination  of  opinion  and  conduct.  On 
the  contrary,  it  negates  more  of  our  opinions  than  it 
forms. 

By  means  of  rational  logic  we  learn  how  to  reason, 
to  deliberate,  to  demonstrate,  and  to  make  discoveries. 
The  data  of  rational  logic  are  exact,  precise  data  taken 
from  observations  which  can  be  duplicated  at  will  and 
which  always  lead  to  the  same  results.  In  the  domain 
of  reason,  ideas  associate  among  themselves  according 
to  a  set  of  definite  rules  that  are  universally  admitted 
1  to  be  true  by  all  men  who  have  had  training  in  rea- 
soning. 

In  reasoning,  attention  isolates  the  object  of  interest 
from  chaos ;  perception  builds  concrete  mental  representa- 
tions ;  reflection  combines  and  compares  these  representa- 
tions in  order  to  form  judgments  as  to  the  relations  of 
ideas.  Different  alternatives  present  themselves  and  ne- 
cessitate a  choice  as  to  the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the 
truth  of  an  idea,  as  to  the  selection  of  one  among  differ- 

247 


248  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ent  courses  of  action,  or  as  to  the  determination  whether 
to  act  or  not. 

For  such  a  purpose,  the  will  comes  into  play  with  its 
three  phases:  deliberation,  decision,  and  execution.  De- 
liberation weighs  the  evidence  and  considers  the  relative 
value  of  each  alternative.  Decision  selects  one  among  the 
different  alternatives.  Execution  is  a  proof  of  the  reality 
or  sincerity  of  the  decision.  Deliberation  is  a  process 
which  takes  time  and  causes  hesitation ;  it  is  not  suited  to 
direct  our  routine  activities.  We  could  not  get  quick 
action  in  daily  life  without  the  spontaneous  response  of 
our  subconscious  self. 

When  a  factor  of  value,  that  is  a  feeling  of  like  or  dis- 
like, enters  into  deliberation,  it  impairs  the  fairness  of  our 
deliberation.  Since  we  cannot  for  a  moment  lay  aside  our 
emotions,  a  sheer  rational  determination  is  rare  except  in 
purely  technical  matters.  In  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
our  decisions  are  influenced  by  sentiment.  Such  decisions 
which  involve  both  intellect  and  feelings  are  the  only  sin- 
cere ones,  because  they  alone  represent  the  true  self. 

Rational  logic  was  the  last  to  appear  in  the  evolution  of 
animal  life.  Beings  acted  before  they  were  able  to  collect 
data  and  to  reason.  The  behavior  of  beings  was  guided 
by  other  forms  of  logic.  Therefore,  comprehension  and 
reason  are  not  primary,  determining  factors  of  action. 
On  the  contrary,  they  often  hinder  action  by  showing  too 
many  of  its  dangers. 

A  constant  characteristic  of  sentimental  and  mystical 
logic  is  that  they  start  from  a  conclusion  and  sustain  it 
by  reasoning.  They  state  a  preference  and  then  endeavor 
to  demonstrate  its  truth ;  whereas  rational  logic  associates 
all  the  data  available  in  order  to  deduce  a  commanding 
conclusion,  so  sustained  by  facts  that  it  imposes  itself 


MOTIVES  FROM  REASON  249 

without  regard  to  our  liking.  This  disregard  of  our  pref- 
erence is  why  reasoning  necessitates  will  training.  People 
are  likely  to  take  their  cherished  opinions  for  granted  and 
so  do  not  try  to  discover  new  truths;  and  all  their  sub- 
sequent reasoning  only  reenforces  their  beliefs. 

Man's  instinct  for  curiosity  and  eagerness  to  learn  and 
to  reason  results  in  a  mastery  over  nature  called  construc- 
tiveness.  "Constructiveness  is  as  genuine  and  irresistible 
an  instinct  in  man  as  in  the  bee  or  the  beaver,"  says  Wil- 
liam James ;  but  in  man,  it  has  acquired  an  intellectual  in- 
genuity which  permits,  as  occasion  demands,  a  constant 
variation  of  its  manifestation. 

114.  Field  of  Rational  Logic. — Rational  logic  is  the 
chief  means  of  gaining  knowledge  and  of  developing 
science  and  skill,  the  aim  of  which  is  to  overcome  the  re- 
sistances of  nature.  Although  no  sharp  line  can  delimit 
the  domain  of  reason,  reason  is  generally  preferred  in  the 
following  cases : 

1.  To  impart  occupational  instruction;  to  explain  prin- 
ciples and  their  consequences;  and  to  show  the  relations 
of  things,  how  to  use  instruments  and  materials,  how 
to  analyze  matters,  how  to  classify  elements,  how  to  com- 
bine them,  and  how  to  foresee  the  result  of  such  combina- 
tions. 

2.  To  induce  a  useful  innovation  in  the  habits  of  people. 

3.  To  convince  those  people  of  professional  or  tech- 
nical ability  who,  in  the  light  of  their  experience,  can 
understand  a  proposition  offered  to  them  in  a  rational 
way. 

4.  To  secure  interest  of  people  in  new  things,  when 
reasons  and  facts  must  create  a  new  value,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  introduction  of  rules  for  safety  and  hygiene. 

5.  To  show  how  desires  can  be  realized. 


250  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

6.  To  secure,  among  people  who  will  not  deliberate, 
confidence  in  and  receptivity  toward  suggestion,  by  show- 
ing that  there  is  at  least  a  reason  in  the  minds  of  others. 

7.  To    emphasize   unusual    "talking   points"   of    any 
proposition. 

A  logical  argument  can  show  people  why  they  ought  to 
act;  but,  unfortunately,  it  raises  a  defensive  attitude. 
Therefore,  persuasion  succeeds  more  readily  when  reason 
is  supplemented  by  emotional  approval.  The  makers  of 
opinion,  in  discovering  a  truth,  are  guided  by  rational 
logic,  but  they  generally  propagate  a  truth  as  a  mystical 
belief.  Opinions  and  beliefs,  however,  are  used  as  prem- 
ises in  reasoning  as  much  as  positive  knowledge  is  used. 
Thus  opinions  and  beliefs,  although  unsupported  by  facts, 
gain  exceptional  force,  because  they  come  to  be  regarded 
as  convictions  supported  by  reasoning. 

115.  Appeal  to  Reason. — The  art  of  argument  is 
the  best  known  part  of  psychology.  Since  Aristotle,  many 
books  have  been  written  on  the  subject.  Because  the  rules 
of  argument  apply  to  influencing  men  in  business  we  shall, 
as  briefly  as  possible,  review  some  of  them.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  requisites  for  complete  deliberation : 

1.  People  must,  in  relation  to  their  experience,  have  a 
clear  and  definite  idea  of  the  proposition. 

2.  Reason  shows  just  what  they  must  do  to  realize  the 
proposition. 

3.  They  must  consciously  compare  evidence   of   the 
value  of  the  new  proposition  with  evidence  for  selecting 
other  things  or  for  not  acting  at  all.     The  comparison 
should  be  made  according  to  established  standards  of 
values. 

4.  Finally,  they  must  be  led  to  make  a  logical  deduc- 
tion. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  BALANCE  OF  MOTIVES 

116.  Individual  Decision. — Sentimental,  mystical, 
and  rational  logics  represent  three  forms  of  mental  activ- 
ity, irreducible  to  common  terms.  It  is  futile  to  deal  with 
them  in  the  same  way,  for  their  methods  are  different.  So 
we  see  that,  far  from  springing  from  a  common  intellec- 
tual source,  our  resolutions  originate  in  different  and  very 
distinct  spheres  of  activities.  Notwithstanding  their 
mutual  action  and  reaction,  sentimental,  mystical,  and  ra- 
tional logics  influence  separately  the  behavior  and  ac- 
tions of  men;  sometimes  one  and  sometimes  another 
predominates. 

Since  the  conclusions  of  the  different  logics  differ  from 
one  another,  one  would  think  that  they  would  constantly 
conflict  and  create  permanent,  distressing  perplexity.  But, 
in  daily  life,  this  is  not  so.  A  state  of  equilibrium  estab- 
lishes itself  among  these  contrary  tendencies;  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  necessities  of  circumstances  and  habits,  our 
self  compromises  with  the  discordant  tendencies  of  these 
logics  and  is  never  embarrassed  in  justifying  their  contra- 
dictions. In  time  of  variation,  when  we  need  to  form 
new  habits,  we  do  not  adapt  ourselves  so  spontaneously. 
Then,  the  equilibrium  of  the  tendencies  of  the  different 
logics  is  disrupted;  these  tendencies,  as  competitors 
struggling  for  supremacy  in  a  truer  expression  of  self, 
enter  into  conflict.  In  such  a  perplexity,  we  hesitate  as 

251 


252  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

to  what  course  of  conduct  to  follow.  Then,  how  is  our  de- 
cision effected? 

A  young  man  has  four  possible  choices.  He  desires  im- 
mediate gratification,  which  he  can  satisfy  by  present 
earning ;  he  realizes  that  he  should  postpone  present  com- 
fort and  prepare  himself  for  a  greater  opportunity  in  busi- 
ness ;  he  believes  that  a  government  position  would  afford 
him  greater  prestige;  and  he  can  accept  a  sure  position 
which  his  father  at  home  offers  him  and  about  which  he 
knows  all  the  facts.  We  have  in  this  case  the  conflict  of 
four  tendencies;  namely,  immediate  gratification,  ambi- 
tion for  a  big  future,  belief  in  prestige,  and  rational  con- 
duct. A  choice  must  be  made.  This  is  done  by  balancing 
the  conflicting  forces  against  one  another.  The  stronger 
desire  overwhelms  the  others  and  motivates  behavior. 
Such  a  decision  is  reached  because,  in  some  way,  one 
tendency  is  stimulated  more  than  the  others,  so  the  bal- 
ance of  motive  is  swung  in  the  direction  of  the  strongest 
tendency.  This  obtains  by  conscious  will,  by  unconscious 
will,  by  deliberation,  or  by  external  suggestion. 

117.  Collective  Decision. — A  decision  is  simple 
enough  to  make  when  one  individual  considers  a  single 
act;  but  when  a  collectivity  has  to  determine  a  type  of 
general  behavior  which  involves  the  whole  complex  of 
life,  the  decision  is  more  difficult.  An  attitude  of  coopera- 
tion, for  example,  is  not  a  matter  of  an  everyday  decision 
made  by  the  individual  worker.  It  is  a  general  attitude  of 
the  collectivity  of  workers,  stimulated  by  their  industrial 
and  social  conditions.  In  such  a  case,  indeed,  human  as- 
pirations, traditions,  conflicting  doctrines,  personal  opin- 
ions, and  many  facts  and  technicalities  of  business  rela- 
tions and  of  production  present  to  the  mind  a  bewildering 
number  of  factors  which  may  associate  in  numberless 


THE  BALANCE  OF  MOTIVES  253 

ways  and  reach  contradictory  conclusions.  Then,  the  per- 
plexity of  the  member  of  the  collectivity  becomes  really 
distressing,  and  in  despair  he  rallies  to  the  conclusion 
either  of  the  majority  or  of  one  in  authority.  Thus  gen- 
eral behavior  becomes  a  question  for  collective  logic  to 
settle. 

We  have  analyzed  in  Chapter  XVIII  the  characteris- 
tics of  different  types  of  associations,  namely,  the  mob, 
the  public,  the  sect,  and  the  corporation.  In  every  case, 
the  manner  in  which  the  members  of  an  association  in- 
fluence one  another  constitute  collective  logic.  The  pre- 
dominance of  sentiment,  of  belief,  or  of  reason  distin- 
guishes the  logic  of  one  association  from  those  of  others 
and  determines  what  the  opinions  and  conduct  of  a  col- 
lectivity is. 

118.  Conclusion. — The  perplexing  conflict  of  our 
different  logics  is  caused  by  the  fact  that  each  logic  con- 
stitutes a  world  in  itself  which  makes  a  decision  of  its  own 
and  competes  for  supremacy.  Greater  social  stability 
might  be  attained  perhaps  by  f unctionalizing  these  differ- 
ent logics  and  coordinating  their  functions  for  a  common 
purpose.  For  example,  sentimental  logic  should  determine 
what  type  of  conduct  must  be  adopted;  that  is  to  say,  it 
should  stimulate  cooperation  in  the  pursuit  of  ideals.  Mys- 
tical logic  should  create  ideals  and  a  current  of  opinion 
which  explains  why  cooperation  is  right.  Rational  logic 
should  show  how  ideals  can  be  realized.  When  men  know 
how  to  associate  their  sentiments,  beliefs,  and  reason  in 
the  pursuit  of  ideals,  they  know  how  to  transcend  the 
limits  of  their  ordinary  conditions ;  and,  they  will  do  so. 
We  did  it  in  the  war,  we  can  do  it  in  peace. 

The  conduct  of  individuals  can  be  influenced  favorably 
to  secure  constructive  action  for  common  benefit.  But 


254  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  motivation  of  a  collectivity  does  not  consist  in  settling 
each  case  of  perplexity  by  getting  a  favorable  decision  for 
each  course  of  action,  for  this  is  impossible.  It  consists 
in  not  allowing  perplexity  to  come  into  existence  at  all. 
True  motivation  of  the  collectivity  of  laborers  consists  in 
functionalizing  the  different  logics  by  establishing  a  set  of 
stimuli  so  correlated  that  each  logic  cooperates  with  the 
others  for  a  common  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

HOW  TO  STIMULATE  VITAL  ENERGIES  FOR  ACTION 

1 19.  Stimulating  Appetites. — Activity  is  stimulated 
by  biotic  logic;  that  is,  by  satisfaction  resulting  from 
proper  function  of  vital  organs.  Since  biotic  logic  operates 
in  subconsciousness,  the  language  of  reason  cannot  influ- 
ence it.  The  stimuli  of  biotic  logic  are  pleasurable  condi- 
tions. 

Organic  promptings  influence  behavior  in  two  ways: 
first,  organic  sensation  of  pleasure  produced  by  comfort 
in  itself  is  dynamic;  it  stimulates  vital  processes  and 
arouses  natural  activity;  second,  when  desire  to  satisfy 
more  wants  is  felt,  a  consequent  motive  induces  the  sub- 
ject to  make  more  money  with  which  to  satisfy  those 
wants. 

Appetites  are  fundamental  instincts ;  but  since  the  primi- 
tive expressions  of  appetites  are  rather  coarse,  these  ex- 
pressions should  not  be  excited  lest  they  degenerate  into 
greediness  and  dissipation,  the  effects  of  which  would  be 
regrettable.  They  should  be  stimulated  by  refining  the 
taste  and  by  elevating  the  standard  of  living.  The  influ- 
ence of  school  and  social  agencies  for  better  hygiene  and 
the  establishment  of  factory  lunch  rooms,  intelligently 
conducted,  set  a  wholesome  example  of  better  living  and 
make  for  greater  self-respect.  In  addition,  the  eating 
places  of  industrial  districts  should  be  encouraged  to  pro- 
vide better  food  and  more  congenial  surroundings.  Fur- 

255 


256  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

thermore,  social  agencies  should  educate  more  girls  in 
domestic  science  and  in  good  housekeeping,  because  whole- 
some food  is  a  fundamental  stimulant  of  activity.  Such 
an  improvement  in  the  standard  of  living  should,  of 
course,  be  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  opportunity 
for  making  the  money  which  the  new  standard  requires. 
Failure  to  do  so  would  certainly  increase  industrial  un- 
rest. 

Hunger  is  the  pain  most  feared ;  love,  the  pleasure  most 
desired.  Let  us  see  what  Ordway  Tead  has  to  say  about 
the  latter  :l 

The  sex  instinct  offers  a  familiar  illustration  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  seem  to  underlie  the  functioning  of  all  innate 
tendencies ;  namely,  that,  if  a  strong  instinct  is  thwarted  and 
the  energy  it  summons  is  not  turned  into  other  satisfying 
channels,  it  still  seeks  its  own  satisfaction  with  increased 
intensity  in  a  perverted  form  and  with  consequent  indiscre- 
tion. This  is  the  familiar  "suppressed  desire"  of  the 
Freudians. 

The  application  of  the  theory  to  other  instincts  gives  such 
fruitful  results  that  it  can  constitute  for  the  present  a  tenta- 
tive working  hypothesis.  Conduct  which  might  otherwise 
appear  to  be  completely  capricious  and  malicious  will  be 
seen  to  be  the  perverted  outcome  of  a  cruel  suppression  of 
natural  tendencies  when  viewed  as  tardy  satisfactions  of 
imperious  impulses.  And  acts  whose  violence  and  extrava- 
gance are  incomprehensible  can  be  understood  as  the  inordi- 
nate satisfaction  of  long  inhibited  desires.  The  facts  of  sup- 
pression, perversion,  and  unrestrained  indulgence  may 
appear  most  obvious  in  connection  with  sex  phenomena. 
But  the  mental  conflicts,  the  unconscious  but  carking  yearn- 
ings for  expression,  the  brave  effort  to  gain  an  outlet  in  one 
direction  when  another  is  hopelessly  blocked — these  are 
common  to  other  impulses  as  well.  In  fact,  the  current 
industrial  unrest  is  due  in  great  part  to  the  enormous  ac- 

1  Ordway  Tead,  Instinct  in  Industry. 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  VITAL  ENERGIES    257 

cumulation  of  suppression  which  the  instincts  of  workers 
have  undergone  in  the  grim  effort  to  get  a  living. 

The  most  important  fact  about  the  relation  of  sex  to 
industry  has  already  been  suggested.  We  must  become  sex- 
conscious  in  our  industrial  dealings — conscious  of  the  place 
and  potency  of  sex,  not  in  a  smirking,  apologetic  way,  but 
conscious  of  it  as  an  essential  and  essentially  sound  and 
wholesome  constituent  of  human  nature.  It  is  not  the 
knowledge  of  sex  matters  and  motives  that  need  alarm  us 
so  much  as  it  is  the  use  of  this  knowledge  for  ulterior  and 
hurtful  ends.  We  are  at  a  point  in  our  dealings  with  affairs 
of  sex  where  our  salvation  is  not  in  stopping  halfway,  but 
in  going  on,  in  making  current  and  accepted  the  fact  that 
our  sex  life  is  not  an  evil  thing  and  that  the  promptings  of 
sex  are  not  vicious  and  low  unless  they  are  deliberately 
made  so. 

Irving  Fisher  said  :2 

The  great  instinct  of  love,  or  of  home-making,  is  a  fifth 
instinct  and  one  vital  for  society.  The  homeless  migratory 
I.  W.  W.  is  an  example  of  what  occurs  when  life  is  deprived 
of  its  satisfaction.  A  man  thinks  of  his  own  family  as  part 
of  himself.  His  success  means  their  happiness.  Any  action 
on  the  employer's  part  which  affects  family  welfare  imme- 
diately arouses  resentment.  The  unrest  caused  by  the  in- 
ability to  enjoy  family  life  or  by  bad  instinctive  life  outside 
the  plant  is  demoralizing.  In  a  word,  conditions  of  employ- 
ment should,  in  every  way,  conduce  to  a  happy  family  life. 

1 20.  Stimulating  Vital  Energies  by  Means  of  Pleas- 
ure: I.  Fatigue. — The  pleasure  of  ease  is  impaired 
by  fatigue.  The  indication  of  normal  fatigue  is  the  way 
by  which  the  organism  shows  that  it  has  expended  the 
amount  of  energy  of  which  it  is  capable.  The  pain  caused 
by  fatigue  is  due  to  chemical  and  physical  changes  within 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ences, January,  1919. 


258  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  muscles.  This  feeling  may  be  aggravated  by  nervous 
fatigue  which  results  from  mental  strain  but  may  be  also 
imaginary  and  produced  by  contagion.  The  pain  of 
fatigue  is  a  claim  for  a  period  of  rest  for  recuperation. 
Says  Professor  Fred.  S.  Lee : 8 

The  very  frequent  indication  of  fatigue  in  a  study  of  out- 
put and  the  recognition  that  fatigue  is  an  enemy  to  high 
production  bring  fatigue  into  great  prominence  in  any  study 
of  industrial  efficiency.  A  certain  degree  of  fatigue  is  the 
expected  result  of  a  day's  work ;  it  is  normal ;  and  when  it 
is  not  revealed  in  the  output,  it  is  questionable  whether  the 
individual  is  approximating  his  capacity  as  nearly  as  he 
should  approach  it.  When,  however,  the  curve  of  output 
does  show  a  falling-off,  it  is  not  necessarily  a  sign  that 
fatigue  has  become  excessive  and  it  not  necessarily  conveys 
a  warning  that  the  output  should  be  cut  down.  It  is  allow- 
able to  consider  whether  output  may  not  even  be  increased 
by  altering  the  conditions  of  work. 

William  James  has  shown  that  by  will  power  the  first 
sensation  of  fatigue  may  be  overcome  and  that  a  conse- 
quent second  wind  can  increase  the  productivity  of  a  man, 
if  he  is  free  from  worry  and  strain.  But  modern  physiol- 
ogists have  proved  that  excessive  stimulation  can  over- 
work the  worker  and  thus  reduce  his  productive  life  down 
to  such  a  short  period  as  twenty  years;  whereas  a  man 
should  be  able  to  work  forty  years.  Until  recently,  it  was 
admitted  that  the  worker  might  be  speeded  to  his  maxi- 
mum effort  provided  he  freely  consented  to  do  so.  But 
the  present  ethics  of  society,  expressed  by  unions  and 
scientists,  denies  the  individual  the  right  to  overexertion. 
His  duty  is  to  increase  his  racial  and  social  value.  Never- 
theless, it  remains  probable,  from  the  mass  of  observa- 
tions brought  to  light  in  war  industries,  that,  under  the 

*  F.  S.  Lee,  The  Human  Machine  and  Industrial  Efficiency, 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  VITAL  ENERGIES    259 

right  conditions,  labor  might  without  overexertion  in- 
crease considerably  the  output  of  industry. 

Experiments  are  now  being  conducted  here  and  abroad 
to  determine  physiological  data  as  to  the  fatigue  element 
and  as  to  the  most  advantageous  length  and  distribution 
of  resting  in  relation  to  working  periods.  But  physiology 
has  not  yet  offered  practical  rules  for  the  organization  of 
works.  Meanwhile,  the  safe  way  to  get  the  maximum 
organic  efficiency  is  the  one  suggested  by  the  law  of  con- 
servation of  energy,  that  is,  the  extension  of  the  use  of 
labor-saving  machinery,  and  the  elimination  of  useless 
movements.  The  substitution  of  mechanical  for  man 
power  is  not  a  haphazard  but  a  sure  way  to  decrease 
fatigue  and  to  maintain  a  spirited  disposition  on  the  part 
of  the  worker. 

II.  Fear. — William  James,  in  discussing  fear,  said : 4 

Fear  causes  an  overcontraction  of  the  free  association  of 
ideas  and  of  motor  processes.  Its  restrictive  influence  upon 
organic  and  mental  life  causes  pain  and  worry  and  breaks 
down  attention  and  concentration  and  troubles  the  coordina- 
tion of  movements.  Fear  is  always  accompanied  by  worry 
which  engenders  a  most  depressing  nervous  fatigue.  Con- 
trary to  the  wholesome  physical  fatigue  from  which  one 
recuperates  overnight,  the  depression  produced  by  worry 
seems  to  aggravate  constantly  until  the  subject  breaks  down 
or  gets  some  chronic  trouble. 

The  way  to  overcome  the  restrictive  influence  of  fear 
was  pointed  out  several  years  ago.  Professor  Lee  Gallo- 
way said  :5 

In  a  consideration  of  welfare  institutions  and  industrial 
betterment,  we  must  include  the  provision  of  safety  devices 
against  accidents  and  fire.  There  is  no  question  but  that  if 

*  William  James,  The  Energies  of  Men. 

*Lee  Galloway,  Organisation  and  Management. 


260  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  employee's  peace  of  mind  is  assured  and  if  there  is  no 
permanent  nuisance  or  danger  staring  him  in  the  face,  he 
can  devote  his  attention  and  energy  more  strictly  to  his 
work.  In  factories  it  is  very  necessary  that  proper  screen- 
ing and  belting  around  the  machines  be  provided. 

The  same  principle  holds  good  in  every  case  where  danger 
is  inherent.  Fire  escapes  and  fire  drills  are  introduced  to 
impress  the  idea  of  security  against  danger  as  well  as  to 
secure  safety.  The  fear  of  being  discharged  or  being  laid- 
off  has  the  same  effect.  Consequently,  an  atmosphere  of 
security  and  confidence  in  the  permanency  of  employment 
conserves  energy  and  stimulates  its  release  for  useful  pur- 
poses. 

///.  Sensuous  Pleasures. — The  depressing  effect  of  in- 
adequate temperature,  ventilation,  light,  sanitation,  etc., 
is  too  well  known  to  be  expatiated  upon.  The  way  to 
stimulate  men  in  terms  of  sensuous  pleasure  is  to  provide 
pleasant  working  conditions.  The  air  should  be  reason- 
ably cool,  moderately  dry,  constantly  renewed,  kept  in 
motion,  and  all  the  conditions  for  bringing  about  a  pleas- 
ant feeling  of  comfort  should  be  provided.  That  is  the 
object  of  welfare  works.  Recreation  has  a  stimulating  in- 
fluence of  the  same  sort.  It  gives  our  minds  and  bodies 
free  opportunity  for  change  and  growth  and  keeps  us 
from  growing  old  too  fast.  It  is,  therefore,  another  means 
of  increasing  the  supply  of  labor. 

In  conclusion,  the  natural  dynamic  impulse  of  man  may 
be  stimulated  to  a  large  degree  by  cultivating  his  instincts 
and  by  adapting  his  environment  and  working  conditions 
to  the  requirements  of  his  physiological  nature.  Proper 
physical  conditions  and  satisfaction  of  organic  desires  are 
the  language  of  biotic  logic ;  they  are  the  persuasive  argu- 
ments which  stimulate  workers  to  greater  activity. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

HOW   TO  STIMULATE   SENTIMENTS   FOR  ACTION 

121.  The  Stimulus  of  Sentiment. — Sentimental 
desires  are  essentially  dynamic,  they  motivate  our  activ- 
ity ;  but,  since  sentiments  are  quite  foreign  to  reason,  they 
must  be  stimulated  by  some  language  different  from  that 
of  intelligence.  That  language  is  suggestion.  A  sugges- 
tion is  an  idea  which  reaches  man  from  without  and  stim- 
ulates in  him  the  feeling  that  the  conclusion  presented  or 
implied  is  to  him  most  desirable.  Professor  W.  D.  Scott, 
whose  book  inspired  a  good  part  of  this  chapter,  says:1 

We  have  been  taught  by  tradition  that  man  is  inherently 
logical,  that  he  weighs  evidence,  formulates  it  into  syllogism, 
and  then  reaches  the  conclusion  on  which  he  bases  his  action. 
The  more  modern  conception  of  man  is  that  he  is  a  crea- 
ture who  rarely  reasons  at  all.  Most  persons  never  perform 
an  act  of  pure  reasoning;  all  their  acts  are  the  result  of 
imitation,  habit,  suggestion,  or  some  related  form  of  think- 
ing, which  is  distinctly  below  that  which  could  be  called 
reasoning.  Our  most  important  acts  are  performed  and  our 
most  sacred  conceptions  are  reached  by  means  of  mere  sug- 
gestion. Great  commanders  of  men  are  not  those  who  are 
best  skilled  in  reasoning  with  their  subordinates.  In  mov- 
ing and  in  inspiring  men,  suggestion  is  to  be  considered  as  in 
every  way  the  equal  of  logical  reasoning  and  as  such  it  is  to 
be  made  the  subject  of  consideration  for  every  man  who  is 
interested  in  influencing  his  fellows.  .  .  . 

The  first  characteristic  of  an  act  of  suggestion  is  that  the 

1  W.  D.  Scott,  Influencing  Men  in  Business. 

261 


262  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ideas  carry  themselves  out  into  action  or  into  belief  by  means 
of  an  inherent  tendency.  This  tendency  we  speak  of  as  the 
"dynamic  impulsive  nature  of  ideas." 

In  carrying  out  suggestions  we  feel  that  we  have  not  been 
forced,  that  we  are  doing  just  what  we  wish  to  do,  that  it 
is  only  the  natural  thing  to  do. 

Although  sentimental  logic  is  still  little  known,  re- 
sponses to  suggestion  have  taught  practical  rules  which 
are  utilized  daily  by  advertising,  selling,  public  speaking, 
and  by  whatever  emotional  appeal  people  can  be  induced 
to  act.  Suggestion  can  be  given  by  means  of  words, 
images,  examples,  or  objects  which  persuade  men  that  a 
preferred  idea  is  the  expression  of  their  own  emotions, 
sentiments,  and  instinctive  desires.  When  such  a  sugges- 
tion is  felt  by  the  subject  as  a  realization  of  self,  it  secures 
direct  response  without  delay  or  criticism. 

122.  How  Suggestion  Stimulates  Sentiments. — 
Suggestion  can  appeal  to  passing  emotions,  such  as  pride, 
shame,  anger ;  to  stable  sentiments,  such  as  parental  love, 
desire  of  fair  play,  sense  of  the  beautiful;  or  to  the  domi- 
nating sentiments  called  passions,  such  as  extreme  acquisi- 
tiveness, love  of  liberty,  love  of  justice,  etc. 

Words  possess  a  great  power  of  suggestion  because 
they  stir  the  sentiments  with  which  they  have  been  long 
associated.  The  word  "promotion"  suggests  an  emotion 
of  ambition;  "efficiency,"  an  emotion  of  professional 
pride;  "class,"  a  feeling  of  solidarity;  and  so  on.  Able 
orators  who  persuade  and  move  large  assemblies  do  not 
lose  time  in  trying  to  convince  their  audiences  by  rational 
arguments.  They  stir  emotion  progressively.  By  means 
of  suggestive  words,  gesture,  and  intonation  of  voice, 
they  create  a  sentimental  atmosphere  which  makes  their 
conclusions  gain  acceptance  without  criticism. 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  SENTIMENTS     263 

Concrete  words  suggest  powerful  mental  images,  but 
figurative  language  is  still  more  powerful.  An  image 
which  moves  the  emotion  and  which  pictures  the  subject 
enjoying  the  pleasures  and  advantages  that  await  acting 
upon  the  given  suggestion,  is  irresistible.  As  soon  as  a 
desire,  more  or  less  definitely  aroused,  is  in  our  minds,  we 
pursue  it  strenuously.  An  image  of  happiness  is  a  per- 
sonal affair,  it  differs  with  different  individuals.  So, 
whether  a  given  idea  shall  be  a  live  idea  depends  more 
on  the  person  into  whose  mind  it  is  introduced  than  on  the 
idea  itself.  A  life-insurance  proposition  does  not  appeal 
to  the  single  man,  but  a  proposition  which  makes  his  posi- 
tion secure  may  induce  him  to  marry.  In  influencing  col- 
lectivities, words  which  are  connected  with  common  ex- 
perience have  magical  power  of  suggestion. 

As  William  James  said :  2 

Apart  from  individual  varying  sensibilities  there  are  com- 
mon lines  along  which  men  simply  as  men  tend  to  be  inflam- 
mable by  ideas.  As  certain  objects  naturally  awaken  love, 
anger,  or  cupidity,  so  certain  ideas  naturally  awaken  the 
energies  of  loyalty,  courage,  endurance,  or  devotion.  When 
these  ideas  are  effective  in  an  individual  life,  their  effect  is 
often  very  great  indeed.  They  may  transfigure  it,  unlocking 
innumerable  powers  which,  but  for  the  idea,  would  never 
have  come  into  play.  Fatherland,  the  Flag,  the  Union,  Holy 
Church,  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  Truth,  Science,  Liberty,  etc., 
are  so  many  examples  of  energy  releasing  ideas.  The  social 
nature  of  such  phrases  is  an  essential  factor  of  their  dynamic 
power.  They  are  forces  of  detent  in  situations  in  which  no 
other  force  produces  equivalent  effects  and  each  is  a  force 
of  detent  only  in  a  specific  group  of  men. 

In  stimulating  sentiment,  the  idea  need  not  be  definite ; 

1  William  James,  The  Energies  of  Men. 


264  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  subject  may  be  left  to  complete  the  suggestion  by  con- 
necting it  with  his  own  experience. 

As  to  the  means  of  suggestion,  Professor  W.  D.  Scott 
says  :8 

In  taking  advantage  of  the  dynamic  nature  of  ideas  the 
salesman  has  attempted  to  discover  means  of  imparting 
ideas  in  such  a  way  that  they  will  be  exceedingly  vivid  and 
hence  exceedingly  dynamic.  In  this  attempt  pictures,  dis- 
play type,  and  diagrams  have  been  extensively  used. 

In  the  anti-alcoholic  campaign,  the  picture  contrasting 
the  sordid  dwelling  of  the  drinker  with  the  happy  home 
of  the  sober  man  seems  to  have  been  successful.  The 
"helping-hand"  figure  used  for  advertising  the  Fourth 
Liberty  Loan  was  an  admirable  example  of  effective  ap- 
peal. Without  any  argument  and  by  eliminating  all  inter- 
mediary elements,  it  connected  directly  the  act  of  sub- 
scribing with  the  ultimate  object :  the  fighting  soldier.  All 
the  illustrated  bills  used  to  induce  men  to  enlist  exempli- 
fied the  application  of  this  principle.  The  growing  use 
in  business,  military,  and  social  works  of  the  picture  that 
suggests  action  is  the  best  evidence  of  its  effectiveness. 

Mere  inanimate  objects  have  a  suggestive  power.  For 
example,  a  light,  clear  machine-room  will  suggest  a  care- 
ful maintenance  of  the  machines.  An  interesting  piece  of 
work  can  appeal  to  constructiveness  and  pride  and  sug- 
gest the  idea  of  doing  something  similar.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  sight  of  luxury  can  incite  jealousy,  anger,  and 
revenge. 

123.  Imitation. — The  effectiveness  of  a  suggestion 
depends  much  upon  the  person  who  gives  it.  The  most 
powerful  source  of  suggestion  is  a  person  who  assumes, 
*  W.  D.  Scott,  Influencing  Men  in  Business. 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  SENTIMENTS     265 

and  is  believed  to  possess,  a  friendly  and  sympathetic  at- 
titude. 

On  this  subject  Professor  W.  D.  Scott  says  :4 

The  words  of  a  great  authority  are  suggestions  for  those 
to  whom  he  is  an  authority.  His  words  are  accepted  as 
facts,  are  not  subject  to  criticism,  but  are  accepted  unhesi- 
tatingly. This  power  of  suggestion  in  the  words  of  men 
with  authority,  with  power,  and  with  technical  ability  is 
made  much  use  of  in  dealing  with  men.  The  expert  work- 
man becomes  the  boss  of  a  gang  and  his  words  are  carried 
out  without  question.  The  man  whose  personality  carries 
the  most  weight  is  assigned  the  most  important  duties. 

Imitation  is  one  of  the  most  common  forms  of  suggestion. 
We  imitate  the  acts  of  others  without  considering  the  ad- 
visability of  so  doing.  This  fact  is  most  significant  in  under- 
standing methods  of  influencing  men.  We  imitate  others 
more  readily  than  we  follow  their  words.  "Come  on!"  is 
more  effective  than  "Go  on !"  If  I  see  others  looking  into  a 
shop  window,  I  too  am  inclined  to  stop  and  look.  If  others 
are  interested  in  one  class  of  sport,  that  is  the  particular 
form  that  entices  me.  All  fashions  and  customs  are  but 
testimonials  of  the  power  of  imitation  as  a  form  of  sugges- 
tion. In  persuading  men  it  is  frequently  possible  to  avail 
oneself  of  the  suggestive  force  of  imitation  even  when  direct 
imitation  is  impossible.  Thus,  pictures  of  others  perform- 
ing any  particular  act  induce  us  to  imitate  the  pictured 
action.  .  .  . 

We  imitate  most  readily  those  whom  we  look  up  to  or 
those  who  are  at  least  our  equals.  This  fact  is  taken  advan- 
tage of,  and  the  respected  type  of  humanity  is  presented  to 
us  as  an  object  for  our  imitation. 

And  again:5 

We  have  come  to  see  that  imitation  is  the  greater  factor 
in  the  education  of  the  young  and  a  continuous  process  with 

4  W.  D.  Scott,  Influencing  Men  in  Business. 

*W.  D.  Scott,  Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business. 


266  ,      HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

all  of  us.  The  part  of  wisdom,  then,  is  to  utilize  this  power 
from  which  we  cannot  escape,  by  setting  a  perfect  copy  for 
imitation. 

124.  Making  Suggestions  Effective. — The  principle 
of  making  suggestion  effective  is  to  trust  that  the  dynamic 
power  of  words,  images,  objects,  or  examples  will  enforce 
acceptance  of  the  idea  suggested.  What  one  says  about 
his  proffered  idea  is  not  so  important  as  how  one  can  in- 
duce the  listener  to  hold  the  idea  in  mind  until  it  arouses 
a  definite  desire.  A  vivid  image  of  realization  and  enjoy- 
ment of  the  thing  desired  favors  an  immediate  decision  to 
act.  The  idea  that  manual  labor  is  a  curse  will  suggest 
to  a  boy  that  it  is  better  to  become  a  poor  clerk  rather 
than  a  prosperous  mechanic.  His  sentiments  of  pride  and 
shame  dictate  his  conduct;  the  arguments  of  wisdom  have 
no  influence  upon  him.  By  the  method  of  suggestion,  we 
give  the  idea ;  and  then,  without  any  attempt  to  convince 
the  subject  by  reason,  we  trust  subconscious,  sentimental 
logic  to  accomplish  the  result. 

Some  rules  have  proved  useful  in  making  suggestions 
effective : 

1.  Visual  perceptions  are  more  dynamic  than  auditive 
perceptions.    Objects  or  pictures  are  more  effective  than 
words. 

2.  Positive  ideas  are  more  dynamic  than  negative  ideas. 
For  example,  "Capitalize  your  time,  learn  a  trade"  is 
more  effective  than  "Don't  lose  your  time." 

3.  A  single  thing  which  gets  the  whole  attention  has 
more  power  of  suggestion  than  a  group  of  things,  because 
these  distract  attention  from  one  another.    A  single  vivid 
impression  which  excites  a  given  sentiment  to  a  high  pitch 
is  the  most  conducive  to  consequent  action. 

4.  Concrete  ideas  are  more  effective  than  abstractions. 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  SENTIMENTS     267 

When  ideas  are  expressed  by  a  story  of  definite  people 
moving  in  a  definite  place  at  a  given  time,  or,  in  other 
words,  by  an  image  of  real  life,  these  ideas  are  more 
suggestive  than  abstractions. 

5.  Objects  which  receive  undivided  attention  are  more 
suggestive  than  those  which  do  not  occupy  the  whole  con- 
sciousness.   To  make  the  mind  receptive,  discard  all  for- 
eign preoccupations. 

6.  People  usually  put  off  the  things  that,  by  the  dic- 
tate of  reason,  they  ought  to  do,  because  they  know  that 
further  reasoning  may  change  their  convictions  or  im- 
prove their  conclusions.    But  they  do  not  put  off  the  things 
dictated  by  emotion.    A  desire  is  felt  as  the  right  thing 
to  obey.    The  conclusion  of  sentiment  is  final  and  arouses 
no  comparison  or  criticism.     Consequently,  to  be  com- 
plete, a  suggestion  should  offer  a  ready-made  decision 
and  be  specific  as  to  time,  place,  and  means  of  realization. 
This  is  important  when  a  response  is  sought  without  de- 
lay. 

7.  A  sequence  of  suggestions,  such  as  a  series  of  sug- 
gested movements  which  leads  naturally  to  the  desired  re- 
sult, is  more  effective  than  a  single  suggestion  which 
leaves  the  way  to  the  conclusion  to  be  thought  out. 

8.  A  feeling  of  value  must  attach  to  the  suggested  idea 
in  order  to  stimulate  the  wish  to  possess  or  to  act.    There- 
fore, people  must  often  be  prepared  before  a  suggestion  is 
given. 

9.  In  its  instinctive  endeavor  to  retain  control  over  the 
making  of  the  self,  will  power  is  constantly  on  the  watch 
to  oppose  the  intrusion  of  outside  influence.    Hence,  sug- 
gestion should  be  offered  in  so  sincere  and  sympathetic  a 
manner  as  not  to  arouse  objection.    We  ourselves  must 
experience  the  emotion  we  want  to  propagate;  no  false 


268  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

expression  can  move  an  audience.  The  suggestions  given 
by  disinterested  persons  who  already  enjoy  the  proposi- 
tion are  the  most  persuading.  When  these  persons  are 
numerous,  a  phenomenon  of  mental  contagion  can  add  to 
the  effectiveness  of  the  suggestion. 

10.  Since  emotion  is  essentially  a  phenomenon  of  short 
duration,  stimulation  should  be  appropriate  to  time  and 
circumstances.     Moreover,  when  the  maintenance  of  a 
certain  emotional  state  is  desired,  stimulation  should  be 
varied,  renewed,  and  progressive,  because  the  effect  of  a 
stimulus  soon  wears  out.    On  account  of  the  variation  of 
our  sensitiveness,  great  discretion  in  the  use  of  emotional 
suggestion  and  periods  of  remission  from  stimulation  are 
necessary.     Successive  stimulations  should  appeal  to  dif- 
ferent sentiments.    When  the  desired  course  of  action  has 
begun,  the  stimulation  can  usually  cease  and  later  be  re- 
peated if  necessary. 

11.  Classifying  the  means  of  suggestion  according  to 
their  suggestive  powers,  we  obtain  the  following  decreas- 
ing scale:  living  example,  animated  object,  inert  object, 
colored  picture,   black  picture,   spoken  words,   written 
words. 

The  effectiveness  of  our  suggestion  is  measured  by  our 
ability  to  allay  suspicion,  to  make  response  easy,  and  to 
get  a  definite  response  at  the  right  time. 

125.  Suggestive  Media. — Among  the  different  media 
for  industrial  use,  we  can  particularly  mention : 

1.  Printed  matter,  blackboard,  bulletins,  images,  stere- 
opticon,  moving  pictures,  lectures,  and  conferences,  as 
they  may  be  required  by  the  conditions  of  particular  cases. 

2.  Prizes,  which  recognize  remarkable  performance  or 
acts  of  distinction,  appeal  to  self-assertion  and  pride.  They 
may  be  given  in  many  forms,  as,  premium,  title,  diploma, 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  SENTIMENTS     269 

congratulation,  personal  attention,  medal,  badge,  right  of 
precedence,  etc. 

3.  Contests,  which  appeal  to  the  love  of  the  game  and 
to  pride,  are  generally  combined  with  prizes.    They  are 
very  effective  since  most  of  the  work  of  the  world  is  done 
by  rivalry. 

4.  A  feeling  of  the  importance  of  one's  job  in  a  large 
organization  appeals  to  construed veness,  to  pride,  to  love 
of  power,  to  glory  for  the  team,  to  love  of  the  game,  and 
to  submissiveness.    This  is  effected  by  showing  to  the  em- 
ployees of  the  whole  workshop  the  relation  of  their  re- 
spective occupations  to  those  of  other  employees,  and  by 
organizing  teamwork  for  final  accomplishment. 

5.  Clean,  respectable  workshops  and  white  uniforms, 
where  such  are  adequate,  allay  shame  and  appeal  to  pride, 
self-respect,  sympathy,  and  aesthetic  sense. 

6.  Besides  its  physiological  influences,  recreation  ap- 
peals to  sympathy,  creates  sociability,  fosters  love  of  lib- 
erty and  of  the  beautiful.    These  sentiments  are  not  only 
conducive  to   an   optimistic   attitude;   they   also   dispel 
pessimistic  sentiments,  such  as  hatred,  jealousy,  envy, 
anger,  revenge.     Social  parties,  festivities,  dances,  club 
meetings,  moving  pictures,  uplifting  lectures,  inspiring 
readings,  chorus  singing,  bands  of  music,  etc.,  are  all 
suggestive  means  of  attaining  such  an  optimistic  attitude. 

7.  The  instinct  of  possession  and  its  consequent  love  of 
order  is  wonderfully  stimulated  by  such  institutions  as  the 
credit  system  for  house-building,  savings  banks,  or  co- 
operative stores. 

8.  An   organization   which   provides   the   means    for 
prompt  redress  of  grievances  appeals  to  the  sense  of  jus- 
tice.   Every  one  in  the  works  should  know  that  the  man 
at  the  top  is  always  within  the  reach  of  every  employee. 


270  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

The  function  of  such  an  organization  suggests  a  feeling 
of  fair  dealing  and  engenders  loyalty. 

9.  Professional,  technical,  and  vocational  schools  de- 
velop constructive  sentiments  by  emphasizing  the  dignity 
of  the  work  for  which  they  prepare  young  men. 

10.  The  meeting  around  the  same  table  of  people  of 
different  stations  of  life  for  the  administration  of  their 
common  interests  suggests  a  feeling  of  equality  and  so- 
cial approval.     Such  meetings  stimulate  sociability,  sym- 
pathy, self-respect,  and  loyalty. 

11.  Institutions,  such  as  works  committees,  powerfully 
stimulate   interest,   responsibility,   self-respect,   altruism, 
loyalty,  and  the  desire  for  self-assertion. 

12.  The  many  institutions,  organized  by  these  commit- 
tees, for  the  improvement  of  health,  safety,  security,  jus- 
tice, and  collective  bargaining,  offer  living  examples  of 
the  greatest  suggestive  value. 

This  nomenclature  shows  that  many  suggestions  are 
not  given  by  words,  either  spoken  or  written.  Thus  ap- 
plied psychology  often  works  automatically  by  the  sug- 
gestions of  the  institutions  of  organized  human  interests 
and  relieves  the  industrial  leader  from  a  good  part  of  the 
burdensome  technique  of  psychology.  Every  functional 
organism  in  industry  and  society,  such  as  the  plant, 
schools,  popular  banks,  shop  committees,  welfare  works, 
housing  and  social  institutions,  may  be  made  a  suggestive 
medium.  The  most  effective  suggestion  comes  from  the 
symbols  of  a  progressive  and  pleasant  life. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

HOW  TO  CONTROL  OPINIONS  AND  BELIEFS  FOR  CONSTRUCTIVE 

ACTION 

126.  The  Need  for  Control  of  Collective  Opinion. 

— We  cannot  always  command  a  given  course  of  action 
among  men,  because  too  many  unknown,  psychological 
factors  conflict  with  our  suggestions.  We  can,  however, 
direct  a  movement  of  opinion  more  easily  than  we  can 
stimulate  individuals  to  do  specific  things.  Indeed,  all 
great  social  movements  have  been  directed  by  influencing 
opinion.  At  present,  the  movement  against  the  estab- 
lished industrial  order  is  being  conducted  systematically 
and  therefore  is  successful  in  transforming  opinion.  If  a 
counter-movement  for  class  cooperation  is  to  be  created 
with  the  same  or  rather  with  greater  success,  it  should  be 
so  planned  and  conducted  that  the  attitude  of  cooperation 
becomes  spontaneous  among  those  who  are  called  upon  to 
cooperate.  Large  groups  of  people  have  been  unanimous 
in  their  religious  beliefs  because  these  beliefs  have  been 
regularly  and  systematically  cultivated.  The  success  of  in- 
dustrial society  depends  upon  belief  in  the  social  signifi- 
cance of  industry.  Such  a  belief  must  be  cultivated  with 
as  much  care  and  persistence  as  the  old  religions  have 
been. 

The  best  way  to  control  the  conduct  of  a  collectivity  is 
to  shape  the  collective  spirit  by  influencing  the  formation 
of  the  opinions  of  the  collectivity.  Opinions  and  beliefs 

271 


272  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

govern  conduct  because  they  are  already  accepted  as  un- 
questionable truths.  Moreover,  they  are  associated  with 
sentiments  and  so  become  a  part  of  our  likes  and  dislikes. 
For  example,  where  the  opinion  is  held  that  "any  scheme 
devised  by  employers  is  deceitful,"  the  plans  of  the  em- 
ployer are  resisted.  The  belief  that  "work  is  a  curse" 
drives  the  best  men  out  of  business  as  soon  as  they  are 
rich  enough  to  live  at  leisure.  Therefore,  we  must  create 
a  new  set  of  social  valuations  and  such  an  attractive  re- 
lationship between  individual  and  society  as  to  win  his 
adherence  and  good  will  to  the  social  order. 

The  next  sections  present  a  brief  analysis  of  the  genesis 
of  opinions.  The  current  opinions  of  the  individual  are 
formed  mainly  by  impressions  and  personal  interests; 
whereas  collective  opinions  and  beliefs  are  influenced  by 
many  formative  factors,  some  of  which  arise  from  within 
individuals,  while  others  come  from  without. 

127.  Internal  Factors  of  Opinions. — The  main  fac- 
tors which  determine  opinion  from  within  are :  character, 
ideals,  wants,  interests,  passions,  and  illusions. 

/.  Character. — Besides  the  character  of  the  race,  the 
traits  of  which  are  almost  unvariable,  character  differen- 
tiates individuals  indefinitely  and  gives  them  permanent 
tendencies  or  habits  which  they  try  to  justify  by  appro- 
priate opinions.  For  instance,  the  autocratic  boss  earnestly 
believes  it  is  necessary  to  drive  his  men ;  he  does  not  sus- 
pect that  he  created  this  necessity.  Certain  eccentricities 
of  temperament  make  men  naturally  optimistic  or  pessi- 
mistic, reactionary  or  revolutionary,  autocratic  or  demo- 
cratic, idealistic  or  realistic.  An  extremely  eccentric  per- 
son is  not  open  to  suggestion;  but  when  he  can  be  per- 
suaded, he  is  prone  to  pass  from  one  extreme  to  the  oppo- 
site. The  great  majority  of  people  are  not  hard  to  in- 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  BELIEFS         273 

fluence  because  the  average  man  is  not  very  eccentric. 

//.  Ideals. — Our  ideals  are  vital  to  us,  hence  we  readily 
approve  every  idea  which  supports  them,  while  we  dis- 
approve ideas  which  oppose  them.  A  socialist,  for  ex- 
ample, has  an  ideal  of  social  order  which  determines  his 
valuation  of  our  present  social  order  and  makes  him  very 
clever  in  detecting  the  defects,  while  very  prone  to  ignore 
progress  in  our  social  system. 

///.  Wants. — Our  wants  are  very  influential  in  the 
creation  of  our  opinions.  To  create  new  wants  is,  indeed, 
to  create  new  opinions.  The  wants  created  and  spread 
by  modern  industry  have  often  increased  more  rapidly 
than  the  means  to  satisfy  them.  Hence  arises  dissatisfac- 
tion which  suggests  to  the  less  fortunate  the  opinion  that 
our  industrial  system  is  inadequate  to  satisfy  the  needs  of 
modern  society.  If  the  means  of  satisfying  wants  kept 
pace  with  wants,  the  masses  would  trust  our  industrial 
system.  We  usually  think  that  the  way  to  increase  the 
means  is  to  increase  wages.  Such  an  opinion  does  not 
take  account  of  all  the  facts,  since  it  fails  to  consider  that 
decrease  in  the  cost  of  living  and  reduction  of  waste  in 
consumption  can  bring  about  prosperity  as  much  as  higher 
wages  can. 

IV.  Interests. — By  concentrating  our  attention  upon 
things  which  are  profitable  to  us,  we  disregard  other 
things  which  interest  others.  Interest  has  the  power  of 
turning  into  truth  what  it  is  advantageous  to  believe.  In 
shaping  opinion,  interest  is  often  stronger  than  reason. 
If  interest  is  urged  by  unbounded  wants,  it  weakens 
morality;  or,  in  other  words,  it  dictates  a  biased  set  of 
opinions  about  the  rights  and  interests  of  others.  For 
example,  the  old-time  employers,  who  made  their  fortunes 
out  of  the  misery  of  their  employees,  ignored,  for  the  sake 


274  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

of  their  own  interests,  those  of  others.  If  people  pos- 
sessed of  different  interests  are  brought  together,  they 
learn  that  the  rights  of  others  are  real  and  that  certain 
interests,  which  they  supposed  were  opposed,  are  identi- 
cal. In  this  way,  employers  and  employees  can  learn 
that  it  is  to  their  common  interest  to  cooperate. 

V.  Passions. — The    intense    sentiments,    termed    pas- 
sions, are  no  less  powerful  causes  of  opinions.    We  saw, 
in  Chapter  XXVIII,  the  social  effect  of  sexual  repression. 
Professor   Irving   Fisher   attributes   the   demoralization 
which  the  "I.  W.  W."  evidence  to  lack  of  love  satisfac- 
tion.    Certain  contagious  passions,  like  hatred  or  ven- 
geance, easily  spread  through  collectivities.    Then  the  in- 
fluence of  these  passions  becomes  tremendous  in  shaping 
opinion.    A  remedy  for  pernicious  passion  is  the  stimula- 
tion of  wholesome  sentiment.     The  passion  for  alcohol 
has  been  corrected  in  many  instances  by  getting  the  men 
to  join  musical  societies.    By  gratifying  the  sense  of  the 
beautiful,  the  opinion  of  man  becomes  optimistic. 

VI.  Illusions. — All  through  life,  we  live  in  a  world  of 
fancy.    Illusions  of  ambition,  of  love,  of  power,  of  glory, 
of  happiness  clothe  crude  reality  with  attraction  and  sus- 
tain courage.     Illusion  is  the  magician  that  unfailingly 
summons  optimistic  opinion.     In  so  far  as  it  makes  life 
beautiful,  illusion  is  essential ;  but  in  so  far  as  it  is  used  to 
deceive,  it  is,  in  the  long  run,  dangerous.    When  an  illu- 
sion on  essentials  vanishes,  its  departure  can  leave  the 
way  open  to  revolution.    For  example,  the  failure  of  the 
French  Republic  to  be  democratic  produced  syndicalism. 

128.  External  Factors  of  Opinions. — External  fac- 
tors influence  the  formation  of  opinions  more  powerfully 
than  internal  factors  do.  The  most  important  are  first 
impressions,  suggestion,  affirmation,  repetition,  mental 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  BELIEFS         275 

contagion,  prestige,  fashion,  custom,  social  environment, 
moral  law,  and  statutes.  The  last  three  have  been  con- 
sidered already  in  Chapters  XVII  and  XVIII. 

1.  First  Impressions. — First  impressions  result  from 
instinctive  response  of  the  self  to  a  given  set  of  circum- 
stances and  create  spontaneous  opinion.    In  this  case,  the 
logic  of  sentiment  operates  on  instinctive  sympathies  and 
antipathies.     Reason,  which  takes  time  for  deliberation, 
plays  little  part  in  forming  first  impressions.    Therefore, 
in  influencing  collectivities  among  whom  sentiment  is  pre- 
dominant, the  first  impression  must  be  pleasing. 

II.  Suggestion:  i.  Mystical  Influence. — Most  of  our 
opinions  and  beliefs  on  any  subject  are  the  result  of  sug- 
gestion. A  mere  statement  is  a  suggestion.  A  positive 
affirmation  which  gives  coherence  to  our  vague  ideas  is  a 
stronger  suggestion;  it  persuades  to  belief  or  action. 
Every  idea  or  conclusion  which  enters  the  mind  is  held  as 
true  unless  it  is  negated  by  some  other  idea.  But  when 
there  is  no  negation  or  when  the  mind  is  overwhelmed  by 
emotion  or  eagerness  to  know,  our  credulity  is  so  much 
increased  that  we  are  likely  to  believe  almost  anything 
that  seems  to  satisfy  our  desires  or  support  our  illusions. 
Opinions  often  rest  upon  superficial  grounds.  A  mere 
appearance  of  reasonableness  may  suffice.  That  is  why 
men  often  oppose  propositions  which  would  finally  result 
to  their  own  benefit.  In  past  experience,  labor's  opposi- 
tion to  machinery  and  the  employer's  opposition  to  high 
wages  furnish  two  instances  of  lack  of  foresight  or  of 
superficial  judgment  based  on  opinions. 

2.  Indirect  Suggestion. — Direct,   forcible  language  is 
liable  to  arouse  objection  and  opposition.    Indirect  or  fig- 
urative language  is  likely  to  be  more  effective.    For  ex- 
ample, if  a  worker  wants  to  discourage  his  fellow  from 


276  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

working  according  to  an  efficiency  plan,  he  will  not  say : 
"Don't  work  on  premium,  the  boss  will  make  too  much 
money,"  because  the  hearer  will  answer :  "I  don't  care,  I 
shall  make  money  myself."  In  an  insidious  way,  the 
worker  will  suggest  distrust  like  this :  "I  worked  on  pre- 
mium formerly,  and  I  was  fool  enough  to  make  too  much 
money.  After  two  weeks  the  boss  cut  down  the  rate,  and 
finally  I  had  to  double  my  output  for  the  same  money." 
Since  this  statement  does  not  suggest  an  objection,  the 
mystical  logic  of  the  hearer  works  out  an  opinion  which 
will  direct  his  conduct.  He  will  not  investigate  the  case 
of  rate-cutting,  as  reason  demands. 

3.  Suggestibility. — Craving  for  explanation  about  so- 
cial phenomena  makes  man  ready  to  accept  without  ques- 
tion any  easily  grasped  relation  among  things  which  in- 
terest him.  The  crudest  answers  to  his  whys  satisfy  him. 
Such  receptivity  to  suggestion  is  responsible  for  the 
thoughtlessness  with  which  our  opinions  are  formed.  In- 
dividuals differ  greatly  in  their  openness  to  suggestion 
and  even  the  same  individual  is  more  open  to  suggestion 
on  some  days  than  on  others.  He  also  varies  according  to 
the  matter  suggested  and  is  influenced  more  by  some  per- 
sons than  by  others.  Furthermore,  he  can  influence  some 
more  than  he  can  others.  All  normal  persons  are  more  or 
less  open  to  suggestion,  if  the  suggestion  is  presented 
properly.  In  so  far  as  it  helps  for  better  social  adaptation, 
suggestibility  is  not  a  weakness.  As  individuals  we  in- 
hibit, and  we  check  more  suggested  actions  than  we  per- 
form. In  the  crowd  the  force  of  suggestion  attains  its 
maximum. 

Suspicion  renders  an  audience  critical  and  unreceptive 
to  suggestion.  A  spirit  of  frankness  and  openness  allays 
suspicion  and  increases  the  power  of  suggestion.  To  win 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  BELIEFS          277 

the  confidence  of  an  audience,  a  man  must  have  confidence 
in  himself  and  in  his  proposition.  No  man  can  hope  to 
influence  unless  he  has  faith  in  himself;  he  cannot  win 
others  to  his  cause  unless  he  has  first  convinced  himself 
of  the  value  of  his  proposition  for  his  audience.  With 
the  crowd,  mere  sincerity  suffices ;  but,  with  an  organized 
collectivity,  only  the  ability  to  consider  both  sides  of  the 
question  with  an  open  mind  is  effective. 

The  autocrat  who  assumes  to  command  the  action  of 
men  according  to  his  own  standards  and  desires  cannot 
awaken  any  favorable  response  or  implant  any  belief. 
Notwithstanding  the  forcefulness  of  his  argument,  he 
arouses  a  defensive  attitude  and  hostile  criticism. 

4.  Repetition. — Repetition  is  the  necessary  complement 
of  affirmation,  and,  therefore,  is  powerful  in  propagating 
opinions.  An  affirmation  need  not  be  sustained  by  any  ra- 
tional proof ;  it  must  only  be  simple,  impressive,  and  ener- 
getic. A  frequent  repetition  of  an  affirmation  creates 
first  an  opinion  and  later  transforms  it  into  belief.  Suc- 
cessful advertising  men  and  politicians  use  repetition.  Its 
power  is  so  great  that  a  man  finally  believes  the  lies  he  re- 
peats constantly.  By  dint  of  repetition,  the  agitator,  who 
has  adopted  opinions  simply  because  they  are  useful  to 
him,  believes  his  nonsense  and  becomes  sincere.  The 
crowd  is  invincibly  repugnant  to  the  effort  of  thinking, 
demonstrating,  and  proving.  It  wants  sharp  affirmation 
and  repetition  of  any  horse-sense  statements  which  satisfy 
its  desires. 

5.  Dynamizing  Ideas. — A  rational  idea  has  no  influ- 
ence until  it  is  associated  with  a  feeling  of  value.  To  get 
value  it  must  be  assimilated  with  the  self  and  felt  to  be 
beneficial.  The  rules  for  making  suggestion  effective, 
given  in  the  preceding  chapter,  apply  to  this  assimilation. 


278  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

In  suggesting  opinions,  the  matter  is  often  presented  in 
the  following  order : 

A.  Assume  a  sympathetic  attitude  toward  the  audience 
and  get  its  undivided  attention  by  some  positive  and  pleas- 
ant remarks  which  will  make  it  feel  its  need.     Speak  in 
terms  of  the  audience  and  from  its  actual  point  of  view. 

B.  In  order  to  get  the  interest  of  the  audience  and 
make  it  responsive,  stir  an  emotion  of  human  interest 
which  bears  a  relation  to  the  proposition. 

C.  Stimulate  a  desire  by  an  attractive  representation 
of  your  proposition,  then  describe  the  proposition. 

D.  Make  a  decision  for  the  audience  and  then  impress 
the  audience  with  proof  that  your  suggestion  serves  its 
best  interests. 

In  the  following  example  taken  from  the  experience  of 
an  illustrious  speaker,  the  application  of  these  rules  is 
marked  by  their  corresponding  numbers.  Observe  that 
the  speech  contains  no  attempt  at  demonstration,  not  for 
lack  of  arguments,  but  because  such  an  opinion  is  better 
conveyed  in  a  mystical  form. 

1.  Bolshevism  is  a  system.     It  is  not  a  hazy  thing,  in- 
definite in  shape,  without  outline.     It  is  a  very  definite, 
concrete  proposal,  with  a  thoroughgoing  constitution  con- 
taining many  articles  of  faith. 

2.  We  have  got  to  understand  what  it  is.     It  is  simply 
the  enthronement  of  one  class  at  the  expense  of  all  others. 
It  is  the  antithesis  of  our  kind  of  government.     It  is  the 
violation  of  every  principle  of  group  action  and  of  democ- 
racy.   We  cannot  have  production  go  on  under  that  system. 
The  attempt  to  enthrone  those  who  are  called  workers, 
regardless  of  the  necessities  of  the  others  in  the  community, 
will  fail. 

3.  How  shall  we  guard  against  it?    By  incessantly  pro- 
claiming what  is  our  idea  of  a  democracy,  fair  and  equal 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  BELIEFS        279 

opportunity  for  all,  no  abuse  of  the  weak  by  the  strong,  and 
no  unjust  crippling  of  the  strong  by  the  weak. 

4.  There  is  one  thing  that  will  disarm  the  agitator,  and 
that  is  the  application  of  these  principles  and  the  bringing 
of  every  one  to  the  meaning  of  the  flag  and  the  demonstra- 
tion that  democracy  is  not  only  a  name  but  a  way  of  life. 
.  .  .  The  salvation  of  a  democracy  is  not  on  the  battlefield, 
but  it  is  in  the  courts  of  justice,  in  the  legislative  halls,  and 
wherever  there  is  fairness  and  justice. 

///.  Prestige. — The  words  of  a  great  authority  are 
accepted  unhesitatingly  by  those  to  whom  he  is  an  author- 
ity. Men  always  follow  confidently  those  whom  they  feel 
will  lead  them  to  success.  The  prestige  of  such  leaders 
dominates  minds.  Prestige  thus  determines  the  great 
majority  of  our  opinions.  Creator  of  opinions  and  mas- 
ter of  wills,  prestige  .is  a  greater  power  than  material 
forces.  Prestige,  rather  than  force,  rules  society.  Dur- 
ing the  war,  Lloyd  George's  prestige  ruled  England. 
Prestige  attaches  to  institutions,  doctrines,  or  symbols  as 
well  as  to  leaders ;  every  one  of  them  is  doomed  to  perish 
as  soon  as  his  prestige  is  lost.  Formerly,  the  right  of 
property  had  prestige  which  commanded  absolute  sub- 
mission of  all.  The  interests  of  the  owner  of  industry 
were  second  to  none.  To-day,  capital  has  lost  its  prestige 
and  opinion  accordingly  has  changed  as  to  the  purpose  of 
industry,  which  has  become  primarily  social  and  second- 
arily individual.  Furthermore,  the  discipline  and  morale 
of  the  armies  have  been  maintained  by  the  prestige  of 
their  chiefs,  not  by  rules.  As  soon  as  the  chiefs  lost  con- 
tact with  the  ranks,  a  slackening  was  noticeable. 

IV.  Mental  Contagion. — Mental  contagion  is  a  psycho- 
logical phenomenon  the  operations  of  which  are  uncon- 
scious to  us  and  which  results  in  the  involuntary  accept- 


280  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ance  of  certain  ideas.  The  reiteration  of  a  single  idea 
from  all  sides  produces  a  volume  of  suggestion  whose 
force  is  irresistible.  Emotions  propagate  readily  by  con- 
tagion. Ideas  are  also  contagious,  but  contagious  ideas 
are  expressions  of  sentiments.  Nothing  is  more  conta- 
gious than  joy,  despair,  fear,  or  anger.  Crime  and  suicide 
are  contagious  examples.  Contagion  fosters  emulation. 

In  everyday  life,  contagion  may  be  limited  by  will 
power;  but  under  the  influence  of  some  excitement,  minds 
vibrate  in  unison  and  influence  one  another.  It  is  natural, 
then,  that  contagion  increases  with  the  size  of  the  crowd. 
In  extreme  cases,  panics  or  revolutions  follow.  Mental 
contagion  acts  not  only  by  personal  proximity  but  also  by 
means  of  printed  matter  and  even  by  rumors.  It  is  in- 
creased by  the  multiplication  of  the  means  of  communi- 
cation because  then  more  minds  influence  one  another.  So 
we  become  more  dependent  upon  each  other  every  day, 
and  our  individuality  merges  ever  more  readily  into  the 
collective  spirit.  Mental  contagion  within  our  groups  is 
so  powerful  that  few  men  try  to  avoid  its  influence.  Un- 
heeded, it  dictates  our  opinions  and  judgments. 

Ideas  propagated  by  contagion  may  be  destroyed  by 
contrary  ideas  or  by  more  attractive  ideas  propagated  in 
the  same  way.  Such  a  conflict  for  supremacy  was  exem- 
plified by  the  campaigns  for  and  against  the  League  of 
Nations. 

V.  Fashion. — Fashion  is  a  form  of  collective  apprecia- 
tion which  molds  many  of  our  opinions  and  propagates 
itself  by  contagion.  Its  domain  is  not  limited  to  clothing; 
it  rules  politics,  theater,  literature,  the  arts,  and  even 
science.  That  is  why  the  works  of  every  epoch  have  so 
many  common  features.  The  power  of  fashion  is  con- 
siderable, for  the  strongest  personalities  scarcely  dare  to 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  BELIEFS         281 

evade  its  dictates.  The  fashionable  opinion  in  Europe 
that  a  life  of  leisure  is  honorable  hinders  the  formation 
of  the  opinion  that  labor  is  honorable,  in  spite  of  the  fine 
praise  for  the  dignity  of  labor  that  leaders  of  thought 
utter. 

VI.-  Custom. — Custom  is  a  form  of  collective  habit 
which  offers  a  ready-made  opinion  about  everything  and 
releases  us  from  the  trouble  of  thinking.  Custom  gains 
from  general  approbation  a  prestige  which  causes  us  to 
love  traditions.  Precedent  has  magic  power.  Law  is 
based  on  precedents  which  are  but  the  sanction  of  cus- 
tom. Law  is  really  effective  and  practically  applicable 
only  when  the  thing  which  it  enforces  is  already  cus- 
tomary. For  example,  prohibition  could  not  have  been 
effected  if  everybody  had  been  accustomed  to  drink. 

VII.  Means  of  Propagation  of  Opinion. — Newspapers, 
periodicals,  and  books  exercise  a  powerful  influence  in  the 
propagation  of  opinion.  The  influence  of  newspapers  is 
much  greater  than  that  of  books,  because  the  multitude 
read  few  of  the  latter.  Numberless  people  have  never  had 
any  opinion  but  that  held  by  their  favorite  paper.  The 
credulity  of  the  readers  toward  the  assertions  of  their 
papers  is  stupendous.  In  building  opinions  and  beliefs, 
politics  and  business  are  based  on  the  prestige  of  printed 
matter. 

Illustrations  in  papers  and  magazines  and  moving  pic- 
tures are  other  forms  of  propagation  of  opinions  whose 
importance  grows  constantly.  The  latter  form,  accom- 
panied by  moving  drawings,  seems  to  be  most  adequate 
for  presenting  facts  in  an  elementary  way  to  prepare 
laborers  for  participation  in  the  management  of  business. 

History  proves  that  mystical  belief  is  all  powerful,  but 
it  also  proves  that  it  is  the  most  dangerous  of  double- 


282  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

edged  weapons.  Indeed,  when  a  collective  illusion  van- 
ishes, the  crowd  overthrows  the  symbols  of  its  past  be- 
lief. Suggestion,  therefore,  is  not  to  be  used  to  deceive 
but  to  teach  the  new  truths  of  industrial  society  and  to 
move  all  parties  to  the  realization  of  their  common  ideals. 

129.  The  Rectification  of  Opinions:  /.  Steadiness 
of  beliefs. — Opinions  are  not  as  settled  as  beliefs.  Al- 
though they  are  changeable,  their  rectification  is  by  no 
means  easy.  Since  opinions  are  founded  on  superficiali- 
ties, they  may  be  corrected,  to  a  degree,  by  argumenta- 
tion; but,  since  the  truth  of  an  opinion  is  proved  only  by 
experience,  a  misleading  opinion  can  best  be  corrected  by 
an  object  lesson  which  shows  both  the  evidence  of  error 
and  the  truth  itself.  For  example,  by  showing  to  the  shop 
committee  the  narrow  margin  of  profits  and  the  difficul- 
ties which  confront  the  management,  the  manager  can 
correct  some  mistaken  opinions  of  his  personnel. 

A  belief  is  unaffected  by  reason  and  affected  very  little 
by  unsuccessful  experience.  A  belief  can  merge  with  an- 
other reconcilable  belief  or  recede  before  a  stronger  be- 
lief, but  never  before  the  evidence  of  its  error.  Indeed,  the 
most  unworthy  of  our  mystical  ideas  have  always  been 
sustained  by  all  sorts  of  arguments.  John  Spargo,  writ- 
ing of  the  Utopian  socialist  Robert  Owen,  says :  "In  face 
of  a  bitter  opposition  and  repeated  failure,  he  kept  on 
with  sublime  faith  and  unbounded  courage  which  nothing 
could  shake."  We  trust  so  much  the  ideas  which  express 
our  sentimental  and  mystical  feelings  that  the  truthful- 
ness of  these  ideas  seems  unquestionable.  A  hardened 
autocrat  or  an  anarchist  cannot  be  convinced  of  his  error. 
To  him  a  truer  conception  is  unthinkable. 

//.  Social  Necessities. — The  social  necessities  which 
are  the  resultant  of  the  whole  set  of  unseen  forces  which 


MOTIVATION  THROUGH  BELIEFS         283 

lead  society  are  another  factor  in  the  correction  of  opin- 
ion. When  we  are  cornered  by  these  inflexible  forces, 
we  must  change  our  opinions  accordingly.  Socialism, 
which  sprang  from  the  harshness  of  social  necessities,  had 
later  to  reform  its  opinions  when  it  was  confronted  with 
the  necessities  of  the  management  of  cooperative  stores 
and  factories. 

///.  Social  Opportunities. — Social  opportunities  which 
open  a  career  to  the  ambitious  discontented  generally 
change  their  opinions  and  attitude  toward  the  social  order. 
It  is  commonly  observed  that,  as  soon  as  they  become 
prosperous,  men  radical  in  business  and  politics  become 
conservative.  On  the  other  hand,  many  highly  educated 
people  have  turned  extremists  because  they  have  missed 
their  chance  in  life. 


PART  IV 
APPLIED  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

PRINCIPLES   OF   HUMAN    ENGINEERING 

It  is  necessary  to  draw  principles  and  to  settle  certain 
rules  by  which  reason  can  grasp  the  result  of  observations. 
This  is  the  purpose  of  theory ;  it  broadens  the  judgment  and 
views  and  makes  the  mind  inventive.  That  is  how  a  system 
can  lead  to  the  discovery  of  many  truths. — J.  J.  ROUSSEAU. 

130.  Purpose  of  Human  Engineering. — The  in- 
dustrial problem  deals,  first,  with  the  coordination  of 
the  immense,  elementary  human  forces  into  collective, 
spiritual  units  for  the  purpose  of  production  and,  sec- 
ondly, with  the  integration  of  those  units  into  social  unity 
for  the  purpose  of  fuller  life.  The  object  of  human  engi- 
neering is  to  show,  by  building  constructive  ideals,  how 
the  collectivity  stimulates  individuals  to  cooperate  for  the 
realization  of  such  ideals.  This  involves  three  different 
kinds  of  activities :  production,  industrial  engineering,  and 
social  engineering.  These  activities  have  to  be  properly 
correlated  if  industrial  life  is  to  have  significance  and  co- 
operation a  reason. 

The  following  is  an  attempt  to  show,  in  figurative 
language,  how  the  laws  of  spiritual  statics  and  dynamics 
may  be  applied  to  systematize  industrial  life. 

Professor  Fotiillee  says : 1  'The  laws  of  psychical  equi- 
librium and  movement  seem  to  be  the  same  as  those  of 
physical  equilibrium  and  movement."  Therefore,  indus- 

'Fouillee,  L' Evolution  des  Idees-Forces. 

287 


288  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

trial  life  may  be  treated  as  a  system  of  physical  or  me- 
chanical forces,  for,  indeed,  the  different  elements  of  so- 
ciety are  as  interdependent  and  responsive  as  though  our 
world  were  an  articulated  system  constantly  moving  to- 
ward a  position  of  equilibrium.  The  method  of  mechanics 
has  been  used  in  order  to  illustrate  clearly  and  simply  how 
human  forces  influence  human  activity.  It  may  be  use- 
ful to  recall  some  essentials  of  mechanics,  which  have  been 
borne  in  mind 'in  the  elaboration  of  this  theory  of  human 
engineering. 

131.  Some  Principles  of  Mechanics. — Mechanics  is 
the  science  of  the  motion  of  bodies  in  space  and  time. 
Granted  that  no  movement  can  be  produced,  modified,  or 
stopped  without  cause,  mechanics  treats  of  such  causes, 
termed  forces.  A  force  is  defined  as  any  cause  tending 
to  produce  or  to  modify  motion.  Mechanics  includes 
statics  and  dynamics.  Statics  treats  of  the  conditions  of 
equilibrium  of  bodies.  Dynamics  treats  of  the  action  of 
forces  and  their  effect. 

A  body  is  said  to  be  in  equilibrium  with  respect  to  two 
or  more  forces  when  these  forces  balance  each  other  so 
that  its  condition  of  rest  or  motion  is  not  affected  by 
them.  It  is  important  to  realize  that  equilibrium  exists 
not  only  when  bodies  are  at  rest  but  also  when  they  are  in 
uniform  motion. 

When  disequilibrium,  in  any  system  of  forces,  occurs, 
it  results  in  a  change.  This  change  persists  until  a  new 
condition  of  equilibrium  is  established.  Inertia  is  the 
force  which  opposes  change  of  either  rest  or  motion. 

The  simplest  mechanical  device  is  the  lever.  As  illus- 
trated by  Figure  i,  a  lever  is  a  rigid  bar  A  B  movable 
round  a  fixed  point  C,  called  the  fulcrum.  The  two  parts 
into  which  the  bar  is  thus  divided  are  called  the  arms  of 


PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING    289 

the  lever.    The  dimensions  of  these  arms  are  measured  by 
the  distances  AC  and  BC. 

When  a  force  is  applied  to  an  arm  of  the  lever,  the 
product  of  the  weight  of  that  force  multiplied  by  the 
length  of  the  arm  of  the  lever  is  termed  the  moment  of 
that  force.  The  moment  measures  the  tendency  of  the 
force  to  produce  rotation  about  the  fixed  point  C.  If  two 


I 


FIGURE  I.     SIMPLEST  FORM  OF  LEVER 

forces  F  and  P  pull  the  lever  in  opposite  directions,  the 
system  is  in  equilibrium  when  the  two  moments  are 
equal ;  that  is,  when  FXAC  —  PXBC 

Every  time  a  body  acts  upon  another,  the  latter  exer- 
cises upon  the  former  an  action,  equal  and  opposite, 
termed  reaction.  The  reaction  of  the  fulcrum  C  equals 
the  sum  of  the  forces  F  and  P. 

When  such  a  mechanical  device  is  practically  applied, 
one  of  its  arms  receives  the  motive  force,  while  the  other 
is  attached  to  the  resistant  force  which  must  be  moved. 
The  motive  force  tends  to  produce  rotation  about  the  ful- 
crum in  one  direction,  and  the  resistant  force  tends  to 
produce  rotation  in  the  other  direction.  When  the  system 
is  in  motion,  the  expenditure  of  work  on  the  side  of 
power  accomplishes  work  on  the  side  of  resistance.  This 
transformation  of  energy  balances  the  moment  of  power 
against  the  moment  of  resistance.  Every  expenditure  of 
energy  which  is  not  embodied  in  the  accomplishment  is 


290  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

wasted  in  friction,  and  thereby  is  opposed  to  the  primary 
purpose. 

The  principles  of  mechanics,  which  seem  to  be  ap- 
plicable to  human  engineering,  are : 

1.  The  principle  of  inertia,  whereby  every  change  re- 
quires a  causative  force; 

2.  The  principle  of  independence  of  forces,  whereby 
component  forces  combine  into  one  resultant  force  ca- 
pable of  replacing  them  all,  although  the  action  of  each 
force  always  remains  the  same ; 

3.  The  principle  of  equality  between  action  and  re- 
action ; 

4.  The  principle  of  conservation  of  energy,  whereby 
the  work  of  the  motive  force  always  equals  that  of  the 
resistant  force. 

We  shall  proceed  to  show  how  the  forces  involved  in 
life's  activities  may  be  dealt  with  on  the  principles  of  me- 
chanics. In  this  first  attempt,  however,  the  similarity  has 
not  yet  been  carried  out  as  far  as  it  might  be. 


IDEALS.,       VTRADITIONS 

LCONFUCTWG 
INTERESTS 


X 

LOYALTY -H      PHYSICAL  RESISTANCES 


FIGURE   2.      STATICS   OF    HUMAN   FORCES 

132.  Statics  of  Vital  Forces. — The  activities  of  life 
are  caused  by  forces  which  tend  to  produce  changes. 
But  since  activity  is  primarily  spiritual,  we  shall  consider 
the  spiritual  forces  as  acting  upon  an  intangible  mental 
instrument.  No  change  can  be  accomplished  except 
through  the  instrumentality  of  two  factors ;  one  of  power 


PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING    291 

and  one  of  resistance,  both  of  which  act  in  opposition 
with  respect  to  a  fulcrum.  In  order  that  a  normal  activity 
may  obtain,  the  elements  of  life  must  be  combined  so 
that  the  factor  of  power  equilibrates  the  factor  of  resist- 
ance. In  figurative  language,  we  shall  represent  the  in- 
tangible mental  instrument  by  a  lever  (see  Figure  2)  upon 
which  the  forces  act. 

In  a  collectivity,  the  fulcrum  is  loyalty ;  it  is  the  spiritual 
support  formed  by  the  assimilation  of  individuals  into  a 
unity  strong  enough  to  resist  reaction  to  the  other  forces. 

The  moment  of  power  is  the  product  of  ideals  and 
motives  of  activity.  Ideals,  being  a  prospective  order,  are 
considered  as  a  dimension,  the  first  arm  of  our  lever.  The 
motives  of  activity  arising  from  human  desires  are  the 
dynamic  forces. 

The  moment  of  resistance  is  the  product  of  traditions 
and  resistances  to  variation.  Traditions,  being  the  differ- 
ent forces  of  inertia  which  tend  to  perpetuate  the  actual 
order,  are  the  opposite  of  ideals  and,  considered  as  a  di- 
mension, the  second  arm  of  our  lever.  The  forces  of  re- 
sistance to  variation  are  the  resistance  caused  by  the  con- 
flicting interests  and  the  physical  resistance.  Mastery 
over  physical  resistances  constitutes  the  technique  of  pro- 
duction. 

We  do  not  consider  morality,  opinions,  and  beliefs  be- 
cause they  perform  their  functions  in  forming  ideals  and 
traditions,  in  stimulating  motives,  and  in  building  loyalty. 

These  five  factors  of  life — loyalty,  motives,  ideals,  tra- 
ditions, and  interests — must  be  present  and  properly  re- 
lated in  order  that  progressive  activity  obtains.  The  suc- 
cess of  cooperative  societies,  for  example,  is  due  to  cor- 
rect engineering  of  these  factors.  Indeed,  the  solidarity 
of  leaders  and  members  and  sense  of  ownership  have 


292  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

created  an  unshaken  loyalty.  Self-assertion  and  love  of 
the  cause  are  the  motives  of  leaders.  The  relief  of  the 
working  class  is  their  major  ideal  which  inspires  specific 
ideals  of  service.  The  wasteful  traditional  methods  of 
distribution  are  abandoned  and  mutuality  of  interests  be- 
between  trader  and  consumer  is  realized.  No  constructive 
activity  can  obtain  without  these  five  factors. 


IDEALS    /TRADITIONS 


1? 


RESIS- 
MOTIVE5  ITA 


i- LOYALTY 
FIGURE  3.     TOO   SMALL  IDEALS   RESULT  IN   STAGNATION 

Figures  3,  4,  and  5  show  how  deficient  motives,  ideals 
or  traditions  result  in  a  lack  of  equilibrium  and  absence  of 
progressive  life.  In  the  survey  of  state  socialism,  we  ob- 
serve how  absence  of  motives  and  ideals  and  predomi- 
nance of  traditions  paralyzes  activity.  Indeed,  motives, 
unmodified  by  ideals  (see  Figure  3)  cannot  be  imagined 
in  a  progressive  society;  animals  alone  are  so  motivated. 
But  ideals,  unanimated  by  motives  (see  Figure  4),  lead 
to  inaction;  that  is,  a  state  of  purely  spiritual  contempla- 
tion of  possibilities.  Either  motives  or  ideals,  taken 
alone,  are  meaningless  and  powerless  to  effect  progres- 
sive life.  Power  arises  when  the  force  of  motives  is  ap- 
plied to  the  lever  of  ideals.  Then,  a  moment  of  power 
results  which,  in  order  to  determine  action,  must  be 
strong  enough  to  overcome  the  moment  of  resistance. 

On  the  other  hand,  although  traditions  oppose  progress, 
they  are  nevertheless  necessary  because  they  assure  the 
time  required  for  the  formation  of  ideals,  the  organiza- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING    293 

tion  of  efforts,  the  adaptation  of  means  to  changing  ends, 
and  the  assimilation  and  enjoyment  of  progress.  Tradi- 
tions are  the  factor  of  stability.  Yet  they  need  to  be  re- 
shaped in  order  to  transform  obstinate  prejudice  against 


IDEALS., 
LOYALTY  RESISTANCES 


T  1 


FIGURE  4.     LACK  OF  MOTIVE  RESULTS  IN  INACTION 

change  into  a  joyful  acceptance  of  progress.  For,  in- 
deed, what  is  considered  progress  by  some  person  or 
group  is  not  considered  as  progress  by  other  persons  or 
groups.  Absence  of  traditions  (see  Figure  5)  means  an- 
archy; that  is,  unsettled  relations  among  men.  Absence 
of  traditions  would  result  in  the  destruction  of  social  life 
by  the  unchecked  prevalence  of  individualism. 

IDEALS .,     TRADITIONS 


F 


MOTIVES 


LttStttMICt* 

.-LOYALTY 


FIGURE  5.     DEFICIENT  TRADITIONS  RESULT  IN   ANARCHY 

A  motive  power  must  have  to  work  upon  some  resist- 
ance the  variation  of  which  calls  for  the  transformation 
of  energy.  A  resistance,  either  physical  or  mental,  is, 
therefore,  a  condition  of  activity.  Nature  is  lavish  of  re- 
sistance. Although  too  great  obstacles  would  make  life 
impossible,  an  absolute  state  of  ease  is  unthinkable  and 
undesirable,  for  a  life  without  resistance  would  make  ac- 
tivity unnecessary  and  stop  progress.  Interest  may  act 


294  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

either  positively  or  negatively.  When  all  the  parties  in- 
volved have  the  same  interests,  interest  is  a  factor  of 
power;  it  motivates  activity  (see  Figure  6).  But  when 
the  interests  of  different  groups  are  in  conflict,  interest 
becomes  a  factor  of  resistance  which  hinders  progress 
(see  Figure  2).  So  we  see  that  the  lack  of  proportion  of 
any  one  of  the  four  factors  which  make  for  progressive 


IDEALS, 


COMMON 
INTERESTS 


TRADITIONS 

PHYSICAL 
RESISTANCES 


rhoTIVES 

LOYALTY 
FIGURE  6.     COMMON  INTERESTS  BECOME   MOTOR 

activity  results  in  a  lack  of  equilibrium  and  in  the  conse- 
quent annihilation  of  the  forward  movement  of  society. 

Human  engineering  statics  are,  therefore,  concerned 
with  the  systematization  of  the  human  factors  of  collec- 
tive life ;  that  is  to  say,  the  correlation  of  loyalty,  motives, 
ideals,  traditions,  and  interests.  A  collective  spirit  of  a 
constructive  character  comes  into  existence  by  the  integra- 
tion of  individuals  into  an  organization  in  which  the  mo- 
ment of  motives  and  ideals  equilibrates  the  moment  of 
traditions  and  resistances. 

133.  Spiritual  Dynamics. — The  object  of  spiritual 
dynamics  is  the  study  of  relationship  between  the  human 
forces — motives,  ideals,  traditions,  and  interests — and 
human  activities.  It  deals  with  causes  of  activity;  or,  in 
other  words,  it  seeks  to  determine  the  principles  by  which 
stimuli  are  made  effective  for  accomplishment. 

The  first  principle  of  spiritual  dynamics  is  the  law  of 
conservation  of  energy,  which  teaches  that  every  expend- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING    295 

iture  of  energy  reappears  in  the  accomplishment,  less  a 
certain  percentage  wasted  in  friction. 

/.  The  Stimulus. — Let  us  illustrate  by  a  familiar  ex- 
ample how  the  law  of  conservation  of  energy  applies  to 
spiritual  life.  A  blacksmith  named  Peter  Jones  owned  an 
old-fashioned  house  and  a  very  primitive  forge.  Because 
of  the  meanness  of  his  disposition  and  of  the  inferior 
quality  of  his  work,  his  neighbors  employed  him  only  in 
case  of  emergency.  He  knew  they  begrudged  him  the 
regular  prices,  and  in  return  for  their  supposed  ill-will, 
he  tried  to  defraud  them.  As  a  result  of  such  mutual 
suspicion,  Peter  Jones  groped  in  misery  and  recrimina- 
tion. 

Finally  he  died,  and  his  son  Joe  took  charge  of  the 
forge.  He  had  just  come  back  from  the  army,  and  his 
experience  had  opened  his  mind.  He  had  caught  the  idea 
of  service  and  decided  to  apply  it  to  his  business.  Of 
course,  he  has  succeeded  and  has  been  patronized  not  only 
by  his  nearest  neighbors  but  also  by  farmers  from  a  dis- 
tance, for  his  reputation  for  skill  and  good-will  spread 
very  fast  through  the  country.  After  a  while,  he  built 
a  new  forge  with  modern  equipment.  The  next  year 
he  remodeled  the  house.  Then  he  married  and  his 
wife  brought  with  her  comfortable  furniture  for  the 
home.  This  was  her  property,  nevertheless  he  enjoyed  it 
just  the  same.  Later  his  wife  opened  a  store;  then  he 
bought  a  lot,  built  a  barn,  and  thus  by  and  by  developed 
into  a  very  prosperous  citizen. 

Joe  had  an  ideal.  But  would  he  have  persevered  in  his 
attitude  of  service  without  any  stimulation?  Certainly 
not.  His  all-round,  growing  prosperity  was  the  stimulus 
of  his  industry  and  good-will.  His  work  was  not  a  mere 
expenditure  of  energy,  but  a  transformation  of  energy. 


296  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

He  did  not  merely  make  horseshoes;  he  forged  on  his 
anvil  buildings,  home,  store,  etc.,  and  was  conscious  of  it. 
His  energy  was  not  wasted  or  stolen,  but  it  reappeared  in 
another  form. 

A  similar  phenomenon  of  stimulation  and  constructive 
reaction  should  be  duplicated,  on  the  collective  plane,  in 
our  industrial  society,  in  which  the  laboring  class  personi- 
fies Joe  Jones  and  in  which  social  works  represents  his 
estates.  In  our  system  of  social  cooperation,  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  reawaken  the  personality  of  the  worker;  it 
is  also  necessary  to  organize  the  collectivity  of  labor  in 
order  to  enable  it  to  react  to  the  stimulus  of  social  prog- 
ress as  Joe  Jones  reacted  to  the  stimulus  of  home  pros- 
perity. The  good-will  of  labor  as  a  collectivity  depends 
upon  the  feeling  that  its  energy  is  conserved ;  that  is,  that 
its  energy  is  transformed  into  means  of  progress  for  col- 
lective enjoyment.  We  must  realize  that  at  present  col- 
lective life  makes  far  greater  demands  than  individual  life 
does.  Labor  must  feel  that  its  own  prosperity  comes  from 
larger  and  more  efficient  production  and  that  industrial 
betterment  and  social  works  result  only  from  a  surplus 
of  wealth  which  industry  must  create.  Labor  must  see, 
through  the  demonstration  of  experience,  the  connection 
between  production  and  social  progress;  it  must  be  con- 
scious of  the  objective  and  subjective  realities  of  social 
progress  and  must  enjoy  the  means  of  progress.  By  mak- 
ing shoes  in  one  place  or  machines  in  another,  we  must 
feel  how  in  reality  we  build  the  city,  the  state,  the  nation, 
and  the  world.  And  the  conscious  progress  of  the  city, 
the  state,  the  nation,  and  the  world  is  the  stimulus  which 
will  motivate  the  collectivity  of  labor  as  the  progress  of 
his  estate  motivated  Joe  Jones. 

The  relation  between  industrial  work  and  social  pros- 


PRINCIPLES  OF  HUMAN  ENGINEERING    297 

perity  seems  at  first  not  quite  similar  to  the  work  of  Joe 
and  his  prosperity,  since  unlike  labor,  Joe  worked  for  him- 
self and  owned  his  establishment.  The  likeness,  however, 
is  more  real  than  it  seems  at  first.  Joe  did  not  own  the 
furniture  of  his  house,  although  he  enjoyed  it.  Similarly, 
the  collectivity  of  labor  need  not  own  the  many  insti- 
tutions required  by  the  development  of  modern  social  life. 
The  worker  need  not  own  the  school  or  the  park;  he 
merely  needs  to  share  these  means  of  social  progress.  This 
similarity  holds  good  when  the  individual  laborer  iden- 
tifies himself  with  the  ideals  of  his  collectivity,  or,  in  other 
words,  when  the  industrial  crowd  is  organized  like  a  cor- 
poration for  a  constructive  purpose. 

//.  Collective  Stimulation. — The  stimulation  of  labor 
for  production  consists  in  transferring  interest  from  so- 
cial ideals  as  an  end,  to  production  as  a  means  for  the 
realization  of  social  ideals.  For  example,  employer  and 
employed  made  money  in  war  industries.  The  money  re- 
ward was  a  stimulus  for  action,  but  cooperation  obtained 
from  the  combination  of  the  emotion  of  gain  with  the 
consciousness  that  unity  of  action  was  needed  to  win  the 
war.  Patriotic  sentiment  transformed  the  emotion  of 
gain  and  shaped  the  form  of  reaction.  The  union  of  mo- 
tive and  ideal  determined  the  desired  behavior.  Likewise, 
the  collectivity  of  labor  must  be  aware  of  the  truth  that 
efficient  production  is  the  means  for  the  realization  of  its 
ideals. 

The  following  chapter  gives  an  example  of  the  applica- 
tion of  our  theory  of  influencing  men  in  business.  Let  us 
remark  in  passing  that  this  theory  applies  as  well  to  sell- 
ing and  advertising  as  to  production. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION 

134.  The  Promoter. — Assuming  that  the  manage- 
ment has  studied  a  plan  of  organization  which  is  believed 
to  satisfy  the  particular  conditions  of  its  business,  it  is 
necessary  to  present  the  proposition  to  the  personnel  and 
get  their  adherence.  The  task  is  delicate  and  most  im- 
portant. Who  will  do  it?  If  a  director  of  personnel  al- 
ready exists,  it  is  his  business;  if  not,  one  should  be  ap- 
pointed. We  must  realize  the  fundamental  truth  that  we 
are  dealing  with  the  living  force  of  industry.  Conse- 
quently, there  is  no  man  in  the  business  too  big  to  take 
charge  of  this  function.  The  proper  man  is  a  natural 
leader,  sympathetic,  animated  by  a  deep  interest  in  his 
work,  intrusted  with  wide  discretionary  powers,  and  fa- 
miliar with  local  conditions. 

The  first  care  of  the  promoter  is  to  assimilate  himself 
with  the  atmosphere  of  the  works,  to  prepare  himself  for 
cooperation  by  taking  down  the  bars  between  himself  and 
the  workpeople,  and  to  be  friendly  and  ready  to  learn  the 
other  fellow's  point  of  view.  We  cannot  talk  freely  with 
others  unless  there  is  give  and  take.  •  If  we  are  to  be 
friendly  with  others,  we  must  drop  all  thought  of  intel- 
lectual or  moral  superiority  and  meet  others  as  our  equals. 
We  will  find  that,  while  we  may  be  superior  in  some 
things,  the  employee  may  sometimes  be  our  master  in 
something  else.  The  thought  that,  for  the  moment,  he 

298 


PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION    299 

represents  the  collectivity  of  labor  may  help  us  to  get  the 
new  attitude  and  cultivate  the  patience  which  is  necessary 
in  building  men  for  better  self-government.  The  pro- 
moter must  have  the  patience  to  listen  to  error  as  well  as 
to  reason  and  the  willingness  to  submit  to  rules,  regu- 
larly voted,  even  though  vexatious;  for  learning  by  ex- 
perience is  the  cost  of  democracy. 

135.  Steps  of  Promotion  of  Labor  Representation. 
— Few  men  see  spontaneously  their  real  interest  when  a 
change  is  suggested  and  few  accept  a  proposition  if  it  is 
presented  to  them  in  the  form  of  a  mere  rational  idea.  The 
majority  must  be  persuaded.  Much  more  are  men  liable 
to  oppose  an  abrupt  presentation  of  a  plan  of  a  new  in- 
dustrial relationship  when  they  already  have  a  deep-seated 
suspicion  against  their  employer.  The  introduction  of  a 
plan  of  cooperation  in  management  is  a  process  that  takes 
as  much  time  and  care  as  a  selling  campaign  for  a  new 
line  of  goods  takes.  No  specific  plan  of  campaign  can  be 
drawn  here  as  an  example,  for  the  procedure  should  be 
studied  for  each  particular  case,  according  to  the  number 
and  character  of  the  workpeople  and  according  to  local 
conditions.  Nevertheless,  the  principles  of  the  process  of 
influencing  men  in  business  may  be  suggested. 

The  object,  briefly  stated,  is :  to  create  an  ideal,  mo- 
tivate the  personnel  for  the  attainment  of  this  ideal, 
remove  harmful  traditions,  and  establish  a  mutuality  of 
interests. 

These  points  should  be  treated  separately  during  the 
period  of  introduction,  which  may  last  from  one  to  two 
months,  according  to  the  mental  level  of  the  crowd.  It 
requires  time  to  remove  a  long  established  belief  in  ex- 
ploitation and  gain  confidence.  The  message  should  be 
presented  from  the  employees'  point  of  view  and,  because 


300  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

of  its  clearness  and  simplicity,  adapted  to  their  minds. 
For  that  purpose,  the  promoter  should  study  his  personnel 
as  to  races,  habits,  moral  and  intellectual  levels,  and  pre- 
vailing ideas  and  tendencies.  He  should  pay  particular 
attention  to  the  personal  interests  of  the  leaders  of  labor, 
for  he  should  turn  them  into  disciples,  instead  of  making 
them  outlaws.  The  advertising  manager  may  give  val- 
uable advice  in  planning  the  campaign,  in  analyzing  the 
"talking  points,"  in  determining  when  arguments  or  when 
suggestion  should  be  used,  and  in  shaping  the  form  of  the 
message.  The  promoter,  of  course,  should  decide  upon 
the  main  ideas  which  will  govern  the  proposition,  the 
final  form  of  the  prospectus,  and  the  order  in  which  the 
different  points  should  be  presented.  The  effect  of  each 
step  should  be  sounded  for  the  direction  of  the  next.  An 
opportunity  should  be  offered  to  ask  questions  and  clear 
up  every  doubt  and  misunderstanding.  All  objections 
should  be  met  or  anticipated,  in  order  to  get  unanimous 
approval.  It  is  useless  to  go  ahead  before  workpeople 
are  convinced  that  a  square  proposition  is  made  to  them 
and  that  you  can  and  want  to  help  improve  their  situation. 
136.  Creating  the  Ideal. — The  message  should  be 
positive ;  therefore,  it  is  desirable  to  speak  about  the  past 
just  enough  to  connect  the  idea  of  prospective  improve- 
ment. For  example,  ideas  similar  to  the  following  may  be 
developed  according  to  local  circumstances. 

The  result  of  the  constant  increase  in  the  size  of  industry 
has  been  the  isolation  of  the  worker  and  his  consequent 
indifference  to  the  issues  of  production.  We  never  wanted 
such  a  situation.  The  trouble  has  been  caused  by  the  in- 
ability of  the  old  systems  of  management  to  administer 
fairly  a  large  collectivity.  Our  wasteful  misunderstanding 
cannot  last  any  longer.  We  must  recognize  that  our  inter- 
ests are  common  and  that  we  work  together  for  a  common 


PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION    301 

purpose.  During  the  war,  we  have  had  opportunity  to 
appreciate  your  resourcefulness  and  loyalty  and  have  come 
to  realize  that  some  reorganization  of  management  must  be 
devised  through  which  you  can  get  the  full  value  of  your 
services,  share  the  responsibility  for  labor  policies,  and 
obtain  quick  settlement  of  grievances.  Confident  in  your 
wisdom  and  ability,  we  want  to  offer  to  you  a  square  busi- 
ness proposition;  that  is  to  say,  a  proposition  which  is 
equally  and  mutually  profitable  to  you  and  to  us. 

Then,  explain  at  length  that  the  idea  is  not  to  create 
hardship  but  to  associate  the  brain  power  of  all  for  the 
good  of  all,  to  define  and  standardize  relations  by  common 
agreement,  to  settle  all  questions  of  interest  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  fair  dealing,  and  to  work  out  together  a  path  of 
continuous  progress.  Recall  that  the  principle  of  govern- 
ment is  to  make  laws  for  the  protection  of  all  and  that 
likewise  democratic  management  consists  in  making  rules 
for  the  government  of  business  and  the  protection  of  the 
interests  of  all.  Management,  thus,  ceases  to  be  arbitrary, 
and  the  personnel  shares  the  responsibility  for  the  rules  of 
the  game. 

Now  is  the  moment  to  present  the  main  features  of 
the  plan  of  representation,  which  provides  the  machinery 
for  getting  in  touch  with  every  interest  involved  in  the 
business  and  for  dealing  adequately  with  its  representa- 
tives. It  should  be  understood  that  absolute  right  of  free 
speech  will  be  guaranteed  to  the  worker  representatives. 
Outline  the  system  through  which  every  employee  can 
voice  a  complaint,  can  suggest  ideas,  and  can  participate 
in  shaping  labor  policies  and  in  bargaining  for  wages. 
Every  employee  must  grasp  the  general  idea  of  the 
organization  of  which  he  is  a  prospective  member  and 
must  understand  how  that  system  will  assure  him  of  the 
promised  fair  dealing. 


302  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

137.  Motivating  the  Personnel. — Stimulation  is  ob- 
tained  by   connecting   sentiment   with   the  proposition. 
Such  connection  is  given,  for  example,  in  the  following 
statement : 

Industry  has  become  a  national  concern  for  the  conduct 
of  which  all  are  responsible.  We  ask  you  to  cooperate  with 
us  for  greater  efficiency  and  progress  in  American  industry. 
The  stabilization  of  American  industry  and  the  consequent 
avoidance  of  unemployment  depends  largely  upon  our  ability 
to  expand  our  foreign  market;  and  increased  exportation 
you  know  is  possible  only  through  more  efficient  production. 
This  can  be  done  if  we  rearrange  together  our  organization 
in  order  to  secure  reciprocal  fair  dealing  for  all,  under  the 
control  of  all.  We  want  to  demonstrate  that  the  principle 
of  democracy,  which  has  made  good  in  our  government,  will 
also  secure  success  in  our  industry. 

Then  set  a  definite  example  of  the  work  of  committees 
and  persuade  the  employees  of  the  value  and  importance 
of  their  new  mission.  Promise  that  every  one  will  have 
a  chance  to  show  what  he  can  do  and  will  be  helped  to 
do  it  and  that  the  best  men  will  have  many  opportunities 
to  exercise  their  initiative  and  work  constructively  for 
the  progress  of  humanity. 

138.  Correcting  Traditions. — Having  expressed  in 
general  terms  the  intention  of  the  promotion  of  labor 
representation  and  having  shown  a  sincere  disposition  to 
play  a  fair  game,  the  promoter  must  remove  suspicion  by 
justifying  such  a  radical  departure  from  traditional  man- 
agement.   Indeed,  suspicion  of  unfairness  is  the  harmful 
tradition  which  hinders  progress.    Paint  a  picture  of  fair 
dealing  which  appeals  to  the  senses  and  imagination  and 
directs  deliberation  toward  the  conclusion  that  justice 
on   both    sides   has   become   the   cornerstone   of    social 


PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION    303 

cooperation.  Convince  employees  that  service,  coopera- 
tion, and  justice  will  supply  their  needs  better  than  any- 
thing else  will,  if  an  adequate  organization  is  provided 
for.  Persuade  them  that  you  are  ready  to  pledge  your- 
self to  such  a  policy  of  justice  if  they  want  to  join  and 
progress.  That  is  why  you  want  your  employees  to 
organize  and  send  their  representatives  to  sit  down 
around  the  meeting  table  with  your  representatives  and 
talk  over  with  frankness  their  differences  and  interests. 

These  are  merely  general  ideas.  No  doubt  the  pro- 
moter will  find  a  justification  best  suited  to  the  particular 
spirit  of  his  personnel  and  connected,  if  possible,  with 
recent  local  events.  It  is  useless  to  preach.  The  aim  is 
to  persuade  the  employees  that  the  proposition  is  sincere, 
that  it  will  prove  equally  profitable  to  both  parties,  and 
that  real  prosperity  is  to  be  derived  from  striving  for  a 
common  aim.  A  successful  example  of  democratic  man- 
agement in  the  neighborhood  may  be  pointed  out  as  an 
excellent  reason  for  imitation. 

Now  correct  traditions  should  be  established.  In 
order  to  avoid  misleading  suppositions,  a  statement  of 
the  principle  of  proportional  representation  will  be  wise. 
It  should  be  understood  that  the  idea  of  democratic  man- 
agement consists  in  a  new  mode  of  association  which 
proportions  the  voice  of  each  party  to  its  particular  inter- 
est in  the  different  phases  of  industrial  relations ;  such  as 
production,  wages,  justice,  welfare,  social  institutions, 
and  recreation. 

139.  Establishing  Community  of  Interests. — At- 
tract the  attention  of  the  audience  by  showing  your 
understanding  of  their  need  for  more  comfort  and  more 
progress.  Make  clear  that  all  progress  which  labor  can 
expect  springs  from  industrial  efficiency.  Show,  by  a 


304  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

simple  argument  related  to  your  own  business,  how  the 
idea  of  service  and  cooperation  is  mutually  beneficial. 
For  example,  point  out  that  a  shoe  factory  is  only  a  big 
shoemaker  and  clothing  industry  is  only  a  big  tailor. 
Prove  that  the  more  they  produce,  the  more  they  can 
exchange  for  a  day's  work.  Then,  explain  that  to  render 
the  best  service  is  the  only  way  to  receive  the  best  services 
from  others.  The  new  organization  will  offer  ample 
means  to  secure,  as  nearly  as  possible,  to  the  individual 
worker  as  well  as  to  the  collectivity  of  labor,  the  market 
value  of  their  effort  and  cooperation. 

140.  Closing  the  Campaign. — With  a  personnel 
composed  of  high-class  men,  an  enthusiastic  response  may 
obtain,  but  with  the  lowest  class  of  labor  a  mere  passive 
acquiescence  may  be  the  only  result.  In  this  latter  case, 
actual  experience  is  the  main  medium  of  influence. 

It  may  seem  unreasonable  to  take  so  much  care  to 
grant  new  privileges  to  workpeople;  but,  in  order  to 
build  a  receptive  mental  attitude  toward  the  plan,  it  is 
necessary  to  convince  them  they  are  not  fooled.  The 
good  will  of  the  workpeople,  indeed,  is  much  more 
important  than  the  plan  itself.  Misleading  statements 
and  exaggeration  should  be  avoided.  It  suffices  that  the 
men  be  persuaded  that  a  new  era  of  fairness  has  begun. 
By  and  by  experience  will  discover  the  advantages  which 
the  attainment  of  progress  will  bring  to  them.  In  that 
discovery  is  the  joy  of  the  game.  It  is  not  advisable  to 
anticipate. 

As  soon  as  the  personnel  is  prepared  and  its  confidence 
and  adherence  is  secured,  the  moment  to  invite  it  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  first  election  has  arrived.1 

1  For  the  procedure  of  nomination  and  election  see  W.  L.  Stod- 
dard,  The  Shop  Committee. 


PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION    305 

141.  Promoting  the  Plan. — After  the  election  of  the 
works  council  has  taken  place  and  the  committee  on 
promotion  has  been  appointed,  the  promoter  should  pre- 
sent the  plan  to  the  latter  committee  and  explain  with  full 
details  the  significance  of  every  article  and  the  intention 
of  the  company.  Since  the  question  is  not  to  give  up  the 
management  of  business  but  to  organize  the  management 
on  new  principles,  he  must  clearly  explain  these  prin- 
ciples and  secure  their  acceptance.  In  order  to  persuade 
the  committeemen,  he  must  make  this  presentation  with 
the  same  care  as  described  above.  Then,  when  they  are 
thoroughly  informed,  the  committee  should  deliberate 
freely  and  shape  the  final  draft  of  the  constitution  to  be 
introduced  to  the  works  council.  Starting  from  the 
principle  that  workers  have  no  definite  idea  of  what  they 
want,  the  promoter  should  give  the  council  full  informa- 
tion in  order  to  prepare  them  for  effective  deliberation. 
During  the  deliberation  of  the  council,  the  members  of 
the  committee  on  promotion  should  direct  the  debate. 
The  plan  should  not  be  presented  as  a  rigid  charter  un- 
changeable forever,  but  as  an  elastic  organization 
susceptible  of  development  as  changing  necessities  de- 
mand and  also  as  workpeople  gain  wisdom  and  ability 
in  self-government. 

When  the  constitution  of  the  cooperative  management 
has  been  voted  upon,  it  should  be  immediately  printed 
and  distributed  to  every  employee;  and  all  the  worker 
representatives  should  take  charge  of  introducing  it  to 
their  constituents,  of  explaining  its  significance  and  bear- 
ing, and  of  assimilating  their  constituents  with  the  new 
organization.  Of  course,  thorough  assimilation  will  re- 
sult only  through  experience,  but  the  representatives 
should  be  induced  to  continue  their  propaganda  until 


306  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  works  council  is  regarded  as  the  most  important 
progress  in  industrial  evolution  and  as  the  safeguard 
and  symbol  of  righteousness.  The  crowd  may  not  un- 
derstand the  intricacies  of  the  organization,  but  they 
want  a  symbol  which  embodies  their  creed  and  their  hope. 
The  whole  success  and  stability  of  cooperative  manage- 
ment will  depend  upon  their  reverence  for  that  symbol. 
It  is  important,  therefore,  that  its  work  be  efficient,  that 
its  sessions  be  frequent  and  held  with  as  much  decorum 
as  is  consistent  with  simplicity,  and  that  great  honor  and 
consideration  be  attached  to  the  representative  functions. 
The  record  of  the  work  of  the  works  council  should  be 
posted  promptly  and  conspicuously  on  the  bulletin  board 
of  the  works  in  order  to  show  results  and  keep  the  em- 
ployees interested. 

142.  What  to  Start. — The  question  arises  as  to 
what  activities  should  be  dealt  with  to  start  and  educate 
the  workpeople  in  cooperation  for  management.  Some 
advocate  starting  with  questions  which  do  not  affect  pro- 
duction at  all,  and  this  seems  to  be  wise  from  the  educa- 
tional point  of  view.  But,  as  long  as  the  vital  question 
of  interests  is  not  resolutely  settled,  suspicion  of  bad 
faith  will  attach  to  the  organization  and  compromise  its 
success. 

Says  Professor  John  R.  Commons :  2 

The  committee  may  have  only  a  nominal  existence  and  its 
recommendations  may  be  disregarded  by  the  management. 
It  may  be  permitted  to  deal  only  with  social  and  athletic 
activities.  It  may  go  further  and  deal  with  accident  and 
sickness  prevention,  mutual  benefits,  and  insurance.  These 
are,  indeed,  important  and  necessary  beginnings.  They  deal 
with  non-controversial  questions,  where  there  is  no  ultimate 

'John  R.  Commons,  Industrial  Good-Will. 


PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION    307 

clash  of  interests,  since  the  disputes  arise  over  methods  to 
be  adopted  for  reaching  an  object  already  agreed  upon. 
The  critical  question  is  whether  they  are  permitted  to  go 
forward  into  the  truly  bargaining  activities  which  decide 
the  ultimate  clash  of  interests — whether  they  take  part  in 
fixing  wage  and  piece-rates,  time  and  speed  standards,  ap- 
prenticeship and  training,  introduction  of  new  processes,  sub- 
stitutions, transfers  and  promotions,  the  execution  of  stand- 
ards nationally  agreed  upon.  On  these  points  is  the  test. 
...  If  he  (the  employer)  starts  it  as  a  subterfuge,  he  is 
probably  laying  up  trouble  for  himself  and  for  others.  If 
he  starts  it  and  continues  it  with  recognition  that  as  fast  as 
possible  the  workers  shall  learn  to  govern  themselves  and  to 
govern  the  shop  in  cooperation  with  himself,  then  he  is  truly 
performing  a  public  service.  .  .  . 


The  National  War  Labor  Board  plan  which  can  settle 
grievances  and  questions  of  hours  and  wages  seems  to 
be  a  good  starting  step  in  connection  with  a  conference 
committee. 

143.  How  Fast  to  Develop  Cooperation  in  Man- 
agement.— The  promotion  of  a  progress  which  con- 
stitutes such  a  radical  change  in  industrial  relations  is  in 
itself  a  social  progress.  As  such,  the  development  of 
the  committee  system  is  necessarily  subject  to  a  slow 
process  of  evolution.  The  workers  must  understand  this. 
The  introduction  of  a  full  organization  as  outlined  in 
Chapter  XVI  may  take  several  years.  Sometimes  a  part 
of  the  plan  will  suffice.  The  time  depends  upon  the  kind 
of  workpeople,  upon  the  fairness  of  the  spirit  which 
animates  both  sides,  and  upon  particular  circumstances. 
Slowness  of  development  is  not  regrettable,  for  every 
partial  progress  is  a  source  of  renewed  enjoyment  and 
interest.  The  essential  is  that  honest  efforts  for  advance- 
ment be  followed  by  corresponding  progress. 


308  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

The  success  of  the  committee  system  is  not  a  question 
of  handing  down  or  forcing  up;  it  is  a  question  of  train- 
ing and  of  getting  results.  Every  successive  step 
forward  may  be  taken  as  soon  as  both  parties  are 
ready  and  agree  to  discharge,  for  mutual  benefit,  a  new 
function. 

144.  The  Function  of  Committees  in  Human  En- 
gineering.— It  would  be  a  mistake  to  let  the  com- 
mittees work  alone  and  then  let  the  manager  grant  or 
reject  their  proposition  according  to  his  own  sense  of 
justice.  No  solution  of  the. labor  question  can  be  ex- 
pected from  the  spontaneous  working  of  the  commit- 
tees. This  solution  will  depend  upon  constructive  leader- 
ship. Therefore,  the  committee  system  is  first  of  all  the 
instrument  through  which  the  director  of  personnel 
enters  into  contact  with  his  men  for  the  purpose  of 
organizing  a  system  of  human  forces  for  constructive 
cooperation.  These  forces — loyalty,  ideals,  motives, 
traditions,  and  interests — determine  progressive  activity 
and  correct  relationship  in  industry. 

The  director  builds  loyalty  by  playing  a  fair  game  and 
by  imparting  correct  opinions  upon  all  industrial  matters 
that  concern  the  workpeople.  A  continuous  educational 
movement  is  necessary  to  form  a  correct,  collective 
opinion  and  to  maintain  the  spirit  of  loyalty.  Through 
the  committees,  the  director  learns  the  facts  of  vital  con- 
cern to  the  workpeople  and  then  imparts  his  views  to 
the  committee  in  order  to  build  with  them,  by  action  and 
reaction,  the  collective  ideals  which  must  give  work  sig- 
nificance. He  eradicates  noxious  traditions  and  stand- 
ardizes the  conditions  which  help  to  build  favorable  tra- 
ditions. He  discloses  the  identity  of  interest  of  employers 
and  employees  and  broadens  the  views  of  the  latter  as 


PROMOTING  LABOR  REPRESENTATION    309 

well  as  his  own.  And,  finally,  he  motivates  his  personnel 
by  stimulating  the  proper  sentiments.  The  following 
chapters  show  how  these  principles  apply  respectively 
to  production,  industrial  engineering,  and  social  en- 
gineering. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

ORGANIZING  FOR  UNITY 

145.  Managerial  Unit. — A  number  of  executives, 
committees,  and  employees  do  not  possess  any  particular 
virtue  of  their  own,  unless  they  are  organized  in  team- 
work for  definite  purposes.  Although  their  activities  are 
specialized,  they  are  closely  interdependent;  so,  in  order 
to  realize  a  common  end,  they  must  be  correlated  as 
though  they  were  no  longer  different  parties  but  one 
spiritual  unity  inspired  by  constructive  ideals.  Such  unity 
obtains  through  three  connecting  links:  manager  with 
officials,  officials  with  workers,  and  workers  with  man- 
ager. 

Since  the  executive  organization  is,  in  fact,  only  a 
mere  extension  of  the  manager's  powers,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  whole  staff  be  closely  bound  with  its  chief.  The 
minor  officials  cannot  form  correct,  specific  ideals  and 
manage  the  workers  properly  unless  they  are  in  close 
touch  with  the  manager  and  permeated  with  his  inten- 
tions and  policies.  Consequently,  for  the  spiritual 
organization  of  the  managerial  staff,  committees  of  fore- 
men, committees  of  officers,  and  an  executive  council 
composed  of  executives  of  all  ranks  should  be  provided. 
Through  such  committees,  the  manager  gets  in  contact 
with  his  officials  for  the  purpose  of  shaping  and  reshaping 
their  vacillating  policies,  while  he  identifies  himself  with 
his  staff  and  forges  it  into  a  homogeneous  unity. 

310 


ORGANIZING  FOR  UNITY  311 

146.  Connecting  Employees. — The   same  process 
of  assimilation  should  take  place  between  foremen  and 
employees.     The    principle    of    the    new    foremanship, 
which  gives  foremen  prestige  and  influence,  is  to  under- 
stand the  worker,  to  speak  in  terms  of  his  aspirations,  to 
impart  to  him  the  ideals  and  instructions  of  the  firm, 
to  bring  out  his  latent  abilities,  and  to  build  up  his  work- 
manship in  order  to  make  him  more  productive,  for  the 
mutual  benefit  of  worker  and  firm.    A  man  who  is  mis- 
understood is  isolated  amidst  his   fellows;  no  fear  or 
compulsion  can  bind  him  in  teamwork.     Mutual  com- 
prehension  between  worker  and    foremen   is   the   first 
requisite  for  cooperation. 

147.  Assimilating  the  Manager. — In  order  to  con- 
solidate the  whole  personnel  into  a  constructive  organiza- 
tion, manager  and  employees,  by  action  and  reaction, 
must  complete  the  process  of  assimilation,  for  opposition 
is   sure  to   arise   in   response   to  any  variation   which 
disturbs  routine.    Such  opposition  in  its  genuine  expres- 
sion should  be  reflected  upon  the  manager.     Opposition 
arises  either  because  the  executive's  proposition  is  not 
clearly   expressed,   is   distorted   in   transmission,    or   is 
inherently  inadequate.    Deficient  expression  and  distorted 
transmission  are   likely  always  to  play  a  part  in  the 
process  of  assimilation  and  sometimes  cause  such  a  mis- 
understanding that  an  otherwise  acceptable  proposition 
may  look  offensive.    When  the  same  channel  is  used  for 
the  transmission  of  ideas  and  for  their  reflection  from 
below,   the  manager  may  become  really   isolated.     He 
cannot  assimilate  himself  with  his  personnel  because  he 
gets  but  a  distorted  response  to  his  distorted  ideas.    This 
situation  breeds  a  chronic  state  of  confusion  and  distrust. 
The  shop  committees  offer  an  independent  return  channel 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

1 


VARIATIONS  OH  POLICIES 


I 


FIGURE  7.     TRIPLE  CIRCUIT  OF  RECIPROCAL  INFLUENCE  FOR  THE  ORGANIZA- 
TION OF  SPIRITUAL  UNITY 

for  concerted  action  and  for  direct  reflection  of  the 
workers'  feelings  upon  the  manager.  He  is  then  able  to 
rectify  his  initial  action  or  to  shape  the  right  mental  atti- 
tude of  the  personnel,  which  is,  after  all,  the  only  thing 
that  counts. 


ORGANIZING  FOR  UNITY  313 

Variation  means  either  innovation  or  continuance  of 
obsolete  traditions.  In  the  latter  case,  the  workers'  ideals 
may  consist  in  a  wish  to  change  the  manager's  mind. 
The  process  of  assimilation  to  obtain  unity  influences 
the  manager  as  well  as  the  workers  and  it  identifies  him 
with  the  cause  of  which  he  is  the  symbol.  A  living  organ- 
ism is  thus  created  with  unlimited  power  of  adaptation. 

The  chart  (Figure  7)  shows  the  closed  circuits  of 
spiritual  influence  between  the  manager  and  his  officials, 
between  foremen  and  employees,  and  between  the  man- 
ager and  employees.  This  provides  a  systematic 
transmission  of  ideals  and  a  free  vent  to  all  feelings.  No 
antagonistic  energy  should  be  allowed  to  accumulate  at 
any  point,  lest  it  explode. 

1 48.  Symbol  of  Unity. — Physical  means  can  also 
offer  aid  in  organizing  for  unity.  Besides  clearly  written 
instructions  to  every  one  regarding  his  functions, 
mutual  relations  are  defined  by  an  organization  chart, 
which  is  the  visible  frame  of  the  collective  spirit.  Pro- 
fessor Lee  Galloway  says :  * 

A  chart  showing  clearly  the  line  of  authority  and  respon- 
sibility of  each  individual  in  an  organization  should  be  so 
simple  that  it  is  self-explanatory  upon  inspection.  Each 
man's  position  is  thus  made  perfectly  clear  and  he  easily 
informs  himself  as  to  what  course  to  take  when  transacting 
business  with  other  departments.  If  applied  to  a  factory, 
each  workman  will  know  to  what  particular  gang  boss  or 
job  boss  he  is  directly  responsible;  each  gang  boss  or  job 
boss  will  know  to  what  foreman  he  must  report ;  each  fore- 
man will  know  to  what  superintendent  he  is  responsible ;  and 
each  superintendent  will  know  where  his  authority  begins 
and  ends  with  other  departmental  heads.  Furthermore,  the 
chart  should  show  who  is  responsible  for  machines  and 
equipment. 

1  Lee  Galloway,  Organisation  and  Management. 


314  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

Now,  a  similar  chart  of  the  representative  system  will 
complete  the  scheme  by  showing  the  functions  of  the 
committees  and  their  connections  with  the  management 
and  the  workpeople.  This  chart  may  be  a  development 
of  Figure  7  on  which  every  committee  appears  separately. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION 

149.  The  Object  of  Human  Engineering  in  Produc- 
tion.— The  object  of  human  engineering  in  production 
is    to    stimulate   willing   cooperation   of    workers    for 
efficiency. 

The  intensity  of  productive  life  is  directly  proportional 
to  the  factor  of  power — ideals  and  motives — and  in- 
versely proportional  to  the  factor  of  resistance — physical 
conditions,  traditions,  and  conflicting  interests.  Stimula- 
tion, therefore,  consists  in  increasing  the  factor  of  power 
and  decreasing  that  of  resistance.  Loyalty  has  been  dis- 
cussed in  Chapter  XX. 

150.  Building  Ideals. — The  manager  identifies  him- 
self with  the  ideals  of  utility  devised  by  the  entrepreneur 
and  takes  them  as  guides  for  the  formation  of  his  own 
ideals    of    production.    He    conveys    his    instructions 
through  his  various  officials,  whose  duties  are  to  analyze 
general  ideas  into  elementary  tasks  and  develop  specific 
ideals  of  quality,  quantity,  cost,  and  time.     The  first 
phase  of  production  is  a  purely  mental  process  of  develop- 
ing and  transmitting  ideals.     The  second  is  the  physical 
operation  which  consists  in  materializing  ideals.     It  is 
evident  that  the  exactness  with  which  the  thought  of  the 
manager  is  reproduced  in  the  product  depends  upon  how 
well  the  thought  of  his  officials  and  workers  conforms 
with  his  own.     In  other  words,  the  exactness  of  the 

315 


316  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

realization  of  his  ideals  depends  upon  the  spiritual  unity 
of  his  organization.  During  both  these  phases,  modern 
methods  of  management  furnish  forms  and  records  by 
means  of  which  he  can  convey  orders  and  supervise  their 
realization. 

Ideals  are  fundamental  in  efficient  production.  There- 
fore, every  one  should  know  the  purpose  of  his  concern 
and  the  relation  of  his  own  work  to  the  final  object  of 
pursuit.  Every  one  should  be  thoroughly  instructed  as 
to  the  ideals  of  quality,  quantity,  cost,  and  time  which  he 
is  expected  to  realize.  No  foreman  or  worker  can  con- 
jecture what  are  the  ideals  which  govern  every  order; 
he  must  be  informed. 

The  ideal  of  quality  may  consist  in  strength,  lightness, 
uniformity,  or  precision,  or  in  one  of  the  many  forms  of 
beauty,  etc.  The  particular  characteristic  which  makes 
for  the  desired  quality  may  vary  indefinitely.  The 
worker  should  be  instructed  as  to  the  defects  which  lessen 
the  particular  quality  of  his  work  and  be  provided  with 
means  for  detecting  these  defects  and  of  estimating  the 
quality.  Only  when  he  is  made  his  own  inspector  is  he 
in  a  position  to  think  on  his  job.  As  long  as  he  does  not 
know  exactly  what  to  do,  he  is  unable  to  think  how  to 
do.  Quality  does  not  mean  the  absolute  best,  but  the 
best  in  a  given  grade.  Consequently,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  many  misconceptions  concerning  quality,  the  manager 
must  impart  his  intention  about  it.  For  example,  in 
mechanical  work  it  is  almost  impossible  to  make  pieces 
exactly  to  dimensions.  If  only  one  figure  is  given  for 
each  dimension,  the  worker  has  no  ideal  of  precision;  but, 
if  a  maximum  and  a  minimum  figure  are  given,  he  has  a 
definite  ideal  and  can  manage  to  attain  it. 

Whether  the  ideal  of  quantity  is  figured  as  a  general 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION    317 

or  individual  output,  a  definite  ideal  is  essential  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  operative  to  his  productivity.  There 
cannot  be  any  thinking  about  quantity  unless  a  standard 
is  provided. 

The  ideal  of  cost  may  not  interest  the  worker;  but  if 
he  is  offered  an  efficiency  reward  and  if  he  knows  that 
lower  cost  means  expansion  of  business  and  secure 
employment,  he  may  become  interested  in  problems  of 
cost. 

Workpeople  have  generally  no  idea  of  the  importance 
of  prompt  delivery  of  goods  at  the  promised  date.  They 
should  have  ideals  of  time.  In  order  to  stimulate  interest, 
they  should  have  before  them  the  record  of  delivery  effi- 
ciency and  the  date  of  delivery  of  each  job  should  be  fixed 
so  as  to  be  attainable  and  some  kind  of  reward  should 
be  given  for  efficiency  in  delivery. 

151.  Motivating  the  Personnel. — Motives   spring 
from  human  desires.    To  the  manager,  many  desires  are 
reducible  to  terms  of  money,  since  money  is  the  medium 
whereby  certain  desires  may  be  satisfied.     Nevertheless, 
many  desires  may  be  gratified  through  the  very  expression 
of  life  in  work.     Indeed,  non-financial  incentives  stimu- 
late production  as  much  as  money  rewards.     Of  course, 
each  particular  concern  must  devise  a  plan  for  such  stimu- 
lation, and  bear  in  mind  that,  in  motivating  the  personnel, 
the  management  must  employ  variety  of  action  and  ex- 
ercise  wise   moderation,   lest   the   workpeople  lose   re- 
sponsiveness. 

152.  Examples  of  Motivation:    /.    Graphs. — In    a 
paper  presented  to  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical 
Engineers,  New  York,  December,  1918,  Robert  B.  Wolf 
showed  how,  without  adding  equipment  or  increasing 
pay,  he  applied  non-financial  incentives  to  a  run-down 


318  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

paper  mill  and  increased  its  yearly  production  from 
42,000  tons  to  110,000  tons,  and  how  he  turned  the 
quality  from  a  poor  one  to  the  very  best.  This  case  is 
noteworthy,  because  pulp  cooking  does  not  seem  to  be  a 
field  for  the  development  of  ideals. 

Mr.  Wolf's  ideals  of  quality  and  quantity  depend  upon 
a  number  of  factors,  such  as  temperature,  pressure,  and 
color,  which  vary  according  to  time.  When  the  correct 
temperatures,  pressures,  and  color  are  obtained,  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  pulp  follow  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Therefore,  he  skillfully  transposed  his  ideals  of 
quality  and  quantity  into  ideals  of  temperature,  pressure, 
and  color  and,  thus,  made  the  correct  values  of  these  fac- 
tors specific  ideals  for  the  cooks.  Granted  that  the  cooks' 
ideals  are  expressible  in  figures,  the  whole  secret  of 
stimulation  consists  in  recording  the  individual  daily 
and  monthly  achievements,  in  classifying  the  men  accord- 
ing to  their  performances,  and  in  posting  the  records. 
No  premium  was  allowed,  but  the  cooks  received  high 
wages. 

Three  instincts  were  appealed  to — pride,  workmanship, 
and  self-respect.  Mr.  Wolf  said: 

I  maintain  that  this  was  all  the  result  of  the  freedom  our 
men  were  experiencing  because  they  were  working  in  an 
environment  which  stimulated  thinking.  They  had  ample 
opportunity  constantly  to  increase  their  knowledge  of  the 
underlying  natural  laws  of  the  process,  and  were  therefore 
able  to  realize  the  joy  which  comes  from  a  conscious  mastery 
of  their  part  of  the  process. 

//.  The  Blackboard. — The  blackboard  is  now  widely 
used  as  a  means  of  stimulation.  Let  us  consider  the  case 
of  a  machine  shop  which  has  accepted  an  order  for  one 
thousand  tools  for  exportation,  to  be  delivered  in  one 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION     319 

month.  Here  is  an  ideal  which  should  be  impressed  upon 
the  workers,  not  only  as  a  final  term  of  delivery  but  also 
as  an  ideal  of  daily  output.  The  motive  which  will  vital- 
ize such  an  ideal  may  be,  for  example,  the  patriotic  neces- 
sity for  America  to  export  her  products. 

The  following  first  announcement  may  be  made  on  the 
blackboard  for  one  week: 


We  have  an  order  for  1,000  tools  to  be  delivered 
for  export  on  September  30.  Thus  we  trust  you  to 
put  out  an  average  of  20  tools  every  day. 

We  need  foreign  trade  to  steady  production  and 
prevent  unemployment.  Exportation  helps  to  build  a 
greater  America. 


After  a  few  days,  this  message  may  be  replaced  by  a 
graph  showing  the  progress  of  work  and  daily  output. 
If  the  desired  result  does  not  follow,  another  stimulus 
may  be  added  like  this : 


The  U.  S.  cannot  hope  for  foreign  trade  until  it 
can  compete  in  delivery  service  with  other  nations. 


When  the  desired  result  is  attained,  the  fact  should  be 
posted  on  the  same  blackboard :  as,  for  example : 


You  kept  the  promise  of  America  to  the  foreign 
market.    We  can  hope  for  more  trade.    Thank  you. 


320 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING 


Of  course,  many  different  appeals  may  be  made  accord- 
ing to  circumstances  and  the  kind  of  workpeople. 

///.  The  Bulletin. — The  bulletin  made  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  advertising  has  proved  successful.  It  may  be 
used  periodically  to  stimulate  the  sentiments  associated 
with  the  different  phases  of  production.  Let  us  develop, 
for  example,  a  series  of  stimulating  bulletins  devised  for 
an  automobile  factory  which  is  to  enter  a  new  line  of 
higher-grade  cars. 


You  HAVE  AN  OPPORTUNITY 

TO   START   A   NEW   LINE  OF 

HIGH  GRADE  CAR 

CAN  You  Do  IT? 


Here  is  an  ideal  of  quality  associated  with  three 
motives :  a  challenge  to  workmanship,  a  chance  to  grow, 
and  self-respect  stimulated  by  responsibility. 


PRECISION 

Is  REQUIRED  FOR  OUR  NEW 
CAR.  LEARN  How  TO  USE 
OUR  NEW  GAUGES  AND  IN- 
CREASE YOUR  SKILL.  OUR 
INSTRUCTORS  ARE  AT  YOUR 
SERVICE. 


The  ideal  grows  more  definite.     A  specific  appeal  is 
made  to  workmanship  and  ambition  as  motives.     The 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION     321 

offer  of  service  makes  the  response  easy  and  inspires 
confidence. 


QUALITY  WEEK 

DON'T  HURRY.  WE  WANT 
FINE  WORK.  THE  ,  FLAG 
WILL  BE  OFFERED  TO  THE 
SHOP  THAT  SHOWS  THE 
LARGEST  PERCENTAGE  OF 
PIECES  ACCEPTED  BY  THE 
INSPECTOR. 


An  inducement  is  made  to  learn  thoroughly  what  are 
the  signs  of  quality  of  every  particular  job.  This  ideal 
is  associated  with  the  motives  of  pride  and  self-respect. 


YOUR  SUCCESS  IS 
AHEAD 

OUR  NEW  CAR  HAS  BEEN 
PRAISED  AS  THE  MOST  RELI- 
ABLE. THANK  You.  THE 
CONTEST  FOR  QUALITY  GOES 
ON. 


The  first  ideal  is  attained  and  loyalty  consolidated  by 
frank  recognition.  This  ideal  is  maintained  and  asso- 
ciated with  the  motives  of  pride  and  self-respect.  A 
new  ideal  is  implied  and  expected. 


322 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING 


LET  Us  HAVE  A  PAYING 
BUSINESS.  YOUR  COMMITTEE 
HAS  SET  A  SCHEDULE  OF 
TASKS  AND  RATES  FOR  QUAL- 
ITY AND  OUTPUT.  MAKE 
MORE  MONEY. 


The  ideal  of  output  is  introduced,  and  with  it  the 
corresponding  powerful  motive  of  reward  proportionate 
to  individual  effort. 


ooo  CARS 

MUST  BE  TURNED  OUT  EACH 
WEEK  TO  SECURE  THE  STA- 
BILITY OF  OUR  CONCERN. 

CAN  You  Do  IT? 

SUGGESTIONS  ARE  WELCOME 
AND  OUR  HELP  Is  AT  YOUR 
DISPOSAL. 


A  collective  ideal  is  set  forth.  A  collective  responsi- 
bility is  suggested.  The  motive  is  a  challenge  to  self- 
assertion.  The  good  will  of  the  workingmen  is  induced 
by  the  cooperation  of  the  management. 

Then  to  complete  the  stimulation,  a  large  American 
flag  may  be  presented  to  the  leading  department  for  each 
two-week  period.  And  it  has  been  a  success  to  offer,  to 
the  department  winning  the  flag  three  times,  a  supper 
attended  by  the  officials  of  the  company. 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION     323 

The  sentimental  incentives  are  very  powerful  and  can 
succeed  occasionally  without  the  accompaniment  of 
financial  reward.  But  good  will  is  exceedingly  sensitive 
to  abuses  of  this  sort;  so  the  success  of  the  method  de- 
pends entirely  upon  the  upright  loyalty  of  the  executive 
who  uses  it.  It  does  not  matter  whether  the  reward  is 
a  high  salary  or  a  premium  as  long  as  the  extra  effort 
is  paid  for.  The  sentimental  incentives  should  never  be 
used  as  substitutes  for  money.  They  merely  stimulate 
interest  and  good  will  which  money  must  reward.  So 
far,  we  have  analyzed  the  factors  of  power.  Now  let  us 
study  the  factors  of  resistance  to  production. 

153.  Traditions:  /.  Inertia  to  Variation. — The  in- 
tensity of  productive  activity  increases  in  inverse  pro- 
portion to  the  inertia  of  traditions.  In  production, 
inertia  proceeds  from  inexperience,  lack  of  skill,  bad 
habits,  uncorrelated  relations,  obsolete  traditions,  fear, 
self-conceit,  pride,  love  of  ease,  ignorance,  coercion,  ex- 
ploitation, isolation,  etc.,  here  designated  by  the  common 
term  "traditions."  Since  the  factor  of  resistance  to  pro- 
duction is  the  product  of  traditions  by  the  physical  re- 
sistances and  by  conflicting  interests,  these  elements 
should  be  decreased  methodically  to  the  lowest  minimum 
possible  in  order  to  obtain  high  efficiency. 

Inertia  is  at  a  minimum  when  a  perfect  routine  is 
established;  and  experience  has  demonstrated  over  and 
over  again  what  high  efficiency  a  routine  organization 
can  attain.  Routine  alone  makes  possible  the  operation 
of  a  complicated  organization,  it  relieves  a  strain  of 
attention  and  worry  which  would  otherwise  render  im- 
possible the  management  of  a  large  plant.  The  physical 
resistance  is  decreased  by  mechanical  equipment  and  by 
mastery  over  the  tools.  Since  the  management  has  taken 


324  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

the  responsibility  of  operations  and  processes,  the  workers 
are  no  longer  the  originators  of  their  working  method. 
Unskilled  and  semiskilled  men  are  expected  first  to  learn 
their  operations  and  repeat  them  faithfully,  then  to  im- 
prove their  particular  ways  and  movements,  and  finally 
to  make  suggestions  if  they  can.  Generally,  their  work 
must  first  be  laid  out  in  every  detail  by  a  planning 
department.  A  part  of  their  work  is  already  assimilated 
into  routine;  another  part  involves  a  slight  variation 
which  may  be  easily  attained  after  definite  instruction. 
In  such  cases,  the  will  power  of  the  men  is  strong  enough 
to  overcome  their  own  inertia. 

Another  kind  of  work  may  involve  a  greater  variation 
opposed  by  a  real  force  of  inertia.  Will  power  cannot 
be  relied  upon  for  quick  self -adaptation.  Men  must  be 
instructed,  drilled,  and  trained  in  their  respective  per- 
formances until  their  activity  becomes  automatic  and 
they  can  be  given  full  responsibility. 

Still  more  extensive  variation  may  involve  changes  of 
conditions,  of  operations,  of  environment,  of  mental 
attitude,  or  of  relationships,  and  these  changes  may  seem 
to  the  workers  positively  undesirable  and  even  alarming. 
Then  instruction  and  training  do  not  suffice;  a  regular 
"selling"  of  the  idea,  with  object  lessons,  should  gain  the 
good  will  of  the  workers  and  reduce  their  mental  inertia 
in  order  to  assimilate  them  into  the  changed  organiza- 
tion. As  shown  before,  the  remaining  inertia  should  be 
reflected  upon  the  executive,  in  order  that  he  can  either 
change  the  form  or  content  of  his  plan  or  make  a  further 
attempt  to  persuade  his  employees  to  follow  him. 

//.  Correcting  Traditions. — Perfecting  workmanship 
and  removing  outworn  traditions  is  thus  the  counterpart 
of  the  formation  of  ideals;  the  former  decreases  the 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION     325 

factor  of  resistance,  while  the  latter  increases  the  factor 
of  power  of  productive  activity.  Hence,  unless  high  skill 
is  required,  the  proper  assimilation  of  workers  is  more 
important  than  the  selection  of  highly  qualified  workers. 
The  instruction,  training,  and  assimilation  of  working 
people  is  a  function  of  management,  since  these  things 
decrease  resistance  to  production.  Vocational  guidance 
and  vocational  education,  on  acount  of  their  more  gen- 
eral character,  may  be  made  rather  a  function  of  Indus- 
trial Engineering.  Not  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  but 
the  fitting  of  as  many  as  possible  to  survive  is  the  present 
motto  for  solving  the  question  of  labor  supply.  The 
recent  extension  of  the  field  for  the  employment  of 
women  has  demonstrated  this  truth  anew. 

The  idea  of  the  perfectibility  of  everything  should  be 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  everybody.  For,  unless  a  man 
knows  that  continuous  change  in  working  methods  is  a 
part  of  progress,  he  will  not  think  of  or  seek  improve- 
ment. Moreover,  his  pride  will  be  hurt  when  he  is  re- 
quired to  change  his  ways  which  once  were  the  best. 

The  traditional  fear  of  asking  advice,  of  offering  sug- 
gestions, or  of  criticizing  should  be  removed  through  the 
safe  channel  of  committees.  Often  the  management 
believes  that  employees  do  not  want  to  cooperate  and, 
by  its  attitude,  suggests  to  them  that  the  company  does 
not  expect  their  cooperation.  As  a  result,  a  tradition  of 
indifference  establishes  itself. 

Correction  of  obsolete  traditions  paves  the  way  to 
better  adaptation  and  facilitates  new  relations.  It  is, 
therefore,  important  to  provide  an  organization  for  re- 
moving such  traditions.  The  conference  committee,  the 
special  committees,  and  the  works  council,  in  many  cases, 
can  prove  to  be  an  adequate  medium.  When  a  prospec- 


326  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

tive  variation  is  likely  to  antagonize  the  traditions  of  a 
large  body  of  people,  a  campaign  of  promotion  should 
be  conducted  among  the  interested  employees  before 
presenting  the  proposition  to  the  vote  of  their  representa- 
tives. Any  innovation  will  be  adopted  if  the  traditions 
which  it  hurts  are  first  removed.  But  traditions  are 
often  very  tenacious. 

///.  Harmful  Traditions  to  Be  Removed. — The  num- 
ber of  traditions  which  systematically  prevent  coopera- 
tion is  astonishing.  The  harmful  traditions  most 
frequently  found  in  industry  are  the  following : 

Unpleasant  or  unhygienic  working  conditions. 

Instability  of  employment,  partly  due  to  lack  of  plan- 
ning and  coordination  of  work. 

Dependence  of  the  employee  on  the  arbitrariness  of 
the  foreman. 

Speeding  up  through  intimidation,  compulsion,  fear, 
or  constant  fault-finding  regardless  of  accomplishment. 

Unwillingness  to  listen  to  suggestions. 

Individual  wage  bargaining  with  employees. 

Deficient  system  of  payment  which  does  not  ade- 
quately reward  personal  effort. 

Ascendancy  of  commercial  motives  without  regard  to 
quality  of  service. 

Leaving  the  employee  working  alone  without  proper 
instructions  and  help. 

Careless  defining  of  duties  which  permits  every  one 
to  dodge  his  responsibility. 

Narrow  limitation  of  duties  which  prevents  initiative. 

Inimical  rivalry  among  men  or  foremen. 

Employment  of  men  too  good  for  their  jobs. 

Example,  given  by  the  management,  in  wasting  time 
nnd  material. 


HUMAN  ENGINEERING  IN  PRODUCTION     327 

Red  tape  which  keeps  officials  from  useful  work. 

Semi-automatic  system  of  management  in  control  of 
men  too  small  to  lead. 

Unfair  dealing,   favoritism. 

Many  other  harmful  traditions  are  to  be  found  in 
every  business;  the  more  ingrained  they  are  the  less  we 
suspect  their  harmful  effect. 

IV.  Two  Aspects  of  Inertia. — There  is  a  curious 
contradiction  in  the  fact  that  pain  is  caused  either  by 
variation  or  monotony.  Pain  from  variation  is  caused 
by  the  inability  of  the  worker  to  adapt  himself  to  new 
circumstances.  Then  he  feels  helpless  and  sometimes 
his  pride  is  hurt.  During  a  period  of  variation,  the 
worker  should  not  be  left  with  a  feeling  of  isolation,  he 
should  be  properly  coached;  and  his  hesitation  and  in- 
ability should  not  be  blamed. 

Pain  from  monotony  is  not  a  peculiarity  of  highly 
specialized,  manual  work;  indeed,  it  may  be  observed 
even  among  engineers  who  over  and  over  again  repeat 
the  same  course  of  computation,  however  complicated  it 
may  be.  Alexander  Bain  declares : J 

Pleasure  is,  in  fact,  the  primitive  charm  of  all  sensation, 
before  it  has  been  dulled  by  continuance  and  satiety.  The 
corresponding  pain  is  monotony,  tedium,  ennui.  This  arises 
from  some  parts  of  the  system  being  unduly  drawn  upon, 
while  others  have  their  stimulation  withheld. 

Monotony  is  often  aggravated  by  the  pain  of  excessive 
subjectivity  or  self-consciousness.  The  absence  of  objective 
attractions  leaves  the  mind  in  a  subjective  condition,  which, 
when  long  continued,  gives  a  sense  of  intolerable  ennui. 

Next  to  novelty  is  variety,  alternation,  or  change.  The 
longer  any  stimulant  has  been  remitted,  the  greater  the 
impression  on  its  renewal.  Variety  is  a  minor  form  of 

'Alexander  Bain,  Mental  and  Moral  Science. 


328  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

novelty.     Our  happiness  depends  materially  on  the  wise 
remission  and  variation  of  objects  of  delight. 

It  has  been  recently  found  that  shifting  workers  from 
one  department  to  another  and  back  again  stimulates 
interest  and  increases  production. 

154.  Interests. — Conflicting  interests  is  the  active 
force  which  retards  variation.  Conflicts  of  interests 
are  not  limited  to  capital  and  labor.  They  appear  also 
among  the  different  departments  of  the  same  concern. 
The  bias  which  causes  such  conflicts  may  be  corrected 
by  a  better  understanding  of  the  other  fellow's  point  of 
view.  Successful  results  have  been  achieved  by  shifting 
foremen  from  one  department  to  another  and  by  bringing 
them  into  committees,  where  ideas  may  be  exchanged 
and  community  of  interests  perceived. 

Between  employer  and  employees,  collective  bargain- 
ing is  the  means  for  adjustment  of  interests ;  and  sincere 
discussion  in  committee  is  the  means  by  which  antagonis- 
tic parties  often  come  to  see  that  interests  which  were 
supposed  to  be  opposed  are  identical.  Profiteering  is  a 
most  powerful  suggestion  against  cooperation. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING 

155.  Limitation  of  Competition. — Free  competition 
has  been  unquestionably  the  source  of  all  industrial  prog- 
ress; for,  indeed,  everything  which  has  been  accom- 
plished industrially  is  due  to  competition.  Nevertheless, 
its  unrestricted  extension  has  been  the  cause  of  great  evil. 
Consequently  not  competition,  but  its  misuse,  should  be 
eliminated. 

Industrial  production  is  the  natural  field  of  competi- 
tion, where  the  contest  of  minds  operates  upon  a  relation- 
ship of  things.  The  intelligent  control  of  such  things 
as  place,  materials,  processes,  and  methods  is  naturally 
competitive  and  should  continue  to  be  so,  because  com- 
petition has  proved  to  be  the  unfailing  stimulus  of 
progress. 

Yet  the  field  of  the  industrial  relationship  of  men  has 
no  reason  to  be  competitive,  because  in  this  field  com- 
petition hinders  progress.  This  naturally  non-competi- 
tive field  comprises  the  conditions  in  which  work  is  per- 
formed and  also  welfare  institutions  of  all  kinds.  Later, 
when  industry  shall  be  organized  nationally,  this  field 
may  include  the  bargaining  of  standard  wages  and  hours 
of  work. 

Although  the  promotion  of  progress  depends  upon  the 
initiative  of  private  concerns,  there  is  no  reason  why 
workers  should  not  enjoy  certain  minimum  uniform 

329 


330  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

standards  of  security,  comfort,  and  hygiene  in  all  es- 
tablishments of  the  same  sort.  There  is  no  reason  for 
competition  regarding  the  general  welfare  of  workers 
which,  to  a  great  extent,  determines  their  social  status. 
There  is  no  reason  why  a  worker  should  be  deprived  of 
his  old-age  pension  because  he  changes  his  employer. 
When  such  a  privilege  was  granted  as  a  personal  kind- 
ness, it  was  used  as  a  means  for  enforcing  loyalty.  But 
now  the  worker  considers  it  a  right;  consequently,  if 
the  pension  system  is  used  to  retain  unwilling  employees, 
it  provokes  resentment  instead  of  inspiring  loyalty. 
Owing  to  this  change  of  mental  attitude,  workers  re- 
gard misuse  of  the  pension  system  and  of  welfare  works 
as  a  flagrant  iniquity.  Health,  safety,  security,  and  vo- 
cational education  are  industry-wide  interests  in  which 
employers  can  cooperate  for  their  common  benefit. 

Now,  that  the  non-competitive  field  is  defined,  we  can 
define  industrial  engineering.  It  is  the  branch  of  human 
engineering  which  is  concerned  with  the  forces  of  indus- 
try in  this  field  of  non-competitive  interests.  It  is  con- 
cerned with  human  relations  from  the  point  of  view  of 
industry  at  large. 

156.  Cooperation  of  Employers. — The  foregoing 
analysis,  which  differentiates  the  production  interests 
from  industry-wide  interests,  shows  that  it  is  desirable 
for  each  concern  to  retain  and  develop  its  individuality 
for  competition  along  the  line  of  sheer  production,  both 
as  to  process  and  labor  management;  whereas,  matters 
of  a  non-competitive  nature,  such  as  safety,  security, 
health,  and  comfort,  which  interest  labor  at  large  are  a 
subject  for  cooperation  among  employers  at  large  through 
their  national  association.  The  first  step  forward,  to 
deal  with  this  large  body  of  problems  which  concern  in- 


INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING  331 

dustry  as  a  whole,  has  been  suggested  by  Professor  J.  R. 
Commons  as  follows : l 

This  is  not  saying  that  national  associations  either  of 
employers  or  of  unions  have  no  place  in  the  awakening  new 
spirit  of  collective  action.  They  have  a  place,  but  it  is  dif- 
ferent. Their  new  place  is  more  professional  and  educa- 
tional and  less  executive  and  governmental.  It  is  the  place 
for  comparing  notes  and  statistics,  sharing  experiences,  tell- 
ing each  other  of  their  successes  and  showing  how  it  is 
done  in  dealing  with  labor.  It  is  less  and  less  the  place  for 
depriving  the  employer  of  his  freedom  to  deal  with  his 
employees  in  his  own  shop.  Employers'  associations  will 
and  must  expand,  but  they  should  become  great  educational 
conferences  on  the  methods,  the  purpose,  and  the  spirit  of 
shop  organization  rather  than  law-making  bodies  for  their 
members. 

This  way  leaves  full  liberty  and  initiative  to  the  pioneer 
to  make  experiments  on  a  small  scale.  After  he  has 
succeeded,  it  is  his  interest  to  spread  the  gospel  of  prog- 
ress and  induce  his  competitors  to  share  his  burden. 
Then,  later,  when  a  certain  practice  has  been  standard- 
ized, it  is  time  to  introduce  a  bill  into  the  legislature  in 
order  to  force  the  minority  of  recalcitrants  to  conform 
to  the  minimum  requirements  of  the  trade.  That 
seems  to  be  the  practical  way  to  attain  a  national  stand- 
ardization of  policies  regarding  matters  of  industrial 
training,  industrial  research,  health,  safety,  and  security 
and  to  realize  good  industrial  legislation.  As  L.  P. 
Alfordsaid:2 

Before  justice  can  be  framed  in  the  form  of  law  there 
must  have  been  developed  a  body  of  general  principles.  It  is 
evident  that  the  principles  underlying  industrial  relations 

*J.  R.  Commons,  Industrial  Good-Will. 

*  Mechanical  Engineering  for  June,  1919. 


332  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

are  now  in  a  process  of  rapid  formulation.  It  is  probable 
that  before  long  our  courts  will  have  to  pass  upon  an  in- 
creasing number  of  industrial-relation  controversies.  Such 
matters  are  justiciable  to-day;  they  were  not  twenty  years 
ago.  We  may  look  forward  to  a  time  when  controversies  in 
regard  to  such  rights  will  become  just  as  justiciable  as  any 
controversy  in  regard  to  property. 

157.  Prospective  Development. — Although  no  plan 
can  be  laid  out  in  advance,  the  present  situation  suggests 
the  following  possible  sketch  of  the  development  of  or- 
ganization for  the  purposes  of  industrial  engineering. 
The  forms  of  this  organization  will  evidently  be  better 
determined  by  experience  and  the  actual  necessities  of 
the  industrial  situation. 

The  first  step  is  to  organize  in  each  unit  a  series  of 
special  joint  committees  composed  of  industrial-engineer- 
ing specialists  and  workers.  They  will  naturally  keep 
themselves  advised  of  the  similar  activities  of  other 
firms  of  their  respective  trades.  After  a  time,  conven- 
tions of  these  committees  of  a  given  trade  may  meet  to 
exchange  views,  share  experiences,  and  settle  the  current 
of  tendencies.  Later  they  can  constitute  for  each  trade 
district  councils  composed  of  delegates  of  the  works 
committees.  Then  a  national  industrial  council  with 
jurisdiction  over  all  industries  may  appear  as  the  corre- 
lating factors  with  the  outside  interests. 

The  national  council  should  include  representatives 
of  the  district  councils  of  all  industries,  engineering  spe- 
cialists with  industry-wide  views,  representatives  of  the 
banks  who  can  represent  the  capitalists,  and  delegates 
of  the  Government  as  spokesmen  of  the  public.  Such  a 
board,  which  represents  the  different  groups  interested 
in  industry,  will  issue  definite  recommendations  or,  as 


INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING  333 

the  case  may  be,  propose  standard  rules  and  regulations 
enforcible  upon  the  individual  concerns  and  groups  of 
workers.  Moreover,  it  will  spread  throughout  the  coun- 
try the  most  advanced  thought  and  practice  which  experi- 
ence develops.  It  will  have  a  considerable  influence  upon 
public  opinion  and  can  prevent,  to  a  large  extent,  any 
particular  group  from  exercising  unjust  pressure  upon 
others.  This  will  be,  perhaps,  its  main  duty. 

158.  Leadership. — The  problems  of  industrial  en- 
gineering include  those  of  human  relations  and  there- 
fore differ  greatly  from  those  of  production.  The  solu- 
tions of  these  two  types  of  problems  require  different 
types  of  mind  and  different  procedures.  Problems  of 
industrial  engineering  require  scientific  research  by  spe- 
cialists. The  specialist,  however,  should  not  work  alone, 
because  such  a  procedure  is  undemocratic  and  will  de- 
velop conclusions  quite  at  variance  with  the  desires  of 
workpeople.  The  closer  he  keeps  in  touch  with  the 
interested  parties  and  the  more  they  cooperate,  the  more 
practical  and  valuable  will  be  his  recommendations.  The 
representatives  of  labor  as  well  as  those  of  management 
are  generally  incompetent  concerning  problems  of  in- 
dustrial engineering.  But,  by  specializing  the  work  of 
the  representatives  of  labor  and  management,  by  giving 
them  full  information,  and  by  concentrating  their  at- 
tention and  interest  on  certain  points,  the  different 
specialists  can  quickly  train  these  representatives  for  co- 
operation. The  specialists,  together  with  the  representa- 
tives of  labor  and  management,  form  industrial-engineer- 
ing committees.  Workpeople  do  not  know  all  their 
needs  and  are  often  unable  to  express  their  wishes  in  an 
acceptable  manner.  Committees  must  do  this  for  them. 
Many  people  believe  that  the  workers  know  more  about 


334  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

safety  than  anybody  else.  It  is  not  so,  because  man 
accustoms  himself  to  danger  and  soon  ceases  to  see  it. 
We  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  induce  workers  to  wear 
goggles  for  grinding  work,  in  spite  of  the  frequency  of 
accidents  to  eyes  in  that  occupation.  I  have  seen  laborers 
using  for  themselves  a  badly-constructed  freight  elevator, 
not  safe  enough  for  freight.  They  pretended  there  was 
no  danger,  because  the  elevator  had  never  failed. 

Their  ignorance  of  hygiene  is  not  less  conspicuous. 
I  knew  a  factory  where  employees  worked  in  very  damp 
rooms  and  suffered  much  from  disease.  The  manage- 
ment built  a  bath,  so  that  the  employees  might  be  able  to 
go  home  clean  and  dry,  and  in  good  shape  to  meet  bad 
weather;  but  no  one  used  the  bath.  As  an  inducement, 
the  management  offered  to  pay  ten  cents  to  each  one  who 
used  the  bath.  Then  the  bathing  rooms  became  success- 
ful and  remained  so  after  the  inducement  was  discon- 
tinued. 

Consequently,  the  object  of  industrial-engineering 
committees  is  not  only  study  and  research  but  also  in- 
struction. Its  main  function  is  perhaps  assimilation  of 
progress  with  workpeople  and  employers.  It  is  only 
when  workpeople  are  persuaded  that  progress  is  ahead 
for  them  that  the  realization  of  progress  becomes  a  hu- 
man interest. 

Granted  that  the  work  of  industrial  engineering  affects 
the  establishment  itself  and  often  involves  current  ex- 
penses and  investments  that  are  not  directly  productive,  a 
great  many  of  its  activities  interest  capitalists.  The  presi- 
dent who  represents  the  capitalists  is  then  the  person 
naturally  designated  to  deal  with  these  problems.  Ne- 
cessities of  scientific  researches,  methods  of  education, 
and  formalities  required  by  the  appropriation  of  credit 


INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING  335 

will  determine  the  procedure  of  this  work.  A  series  of 
committees  representing  industry-wide  non-competitive 
interests  has  been  outlined  in  Chapter  XVI. 

159.  Technique  of  Industrial  Engineering. — From 
the  manager's  point  of  view,  quantity,  quality,  time,  and 
cost  are  the  end  of  industry.    Nevertheless,  if  we  abandon 
the  immediate  consideration  of  production  and  transfer 
ourselves  to  the  more  distant  plane  from  which  the  presi- 
dent, who  represents  the  entrepreneur,  views  his  business, 
we  see  instead  a  slow  development  of  social  services,  of 
opportunities,  and  of  welfare  institutions,  which  become 
more  and  more  an  end  of  industry.     The  purpose  of 
industrial  engineering  is  to  organize  collective  industrial 
life  for  the  pursuit  of  these  forms  of  progress. 

The  statics  of  industrial  engineering  consists  in  build- 
ing a  system  of  human  forces — loyalty,  motives,  ideals, 
traditions,  and  interests — which  will  insure  progressive 
industrial  life. 

The  dynamics  of  industrial  engineering  consists  in 
making  industrial  progress  stimulate  cooperation  in  pro- 
duction. As  Alexander  Bain  3  says,  "association  trans- 
fers the  interest  of  an  end  of  pursuit  to  the  means."  This 
phenomenon  has  already  been  discussed  in  Chapter 
XXXI. 

Since  the  industrial  organization  is  the  means  by  which 
the  worker  expresses  his  life  and  establishes  most  of  his 
relations  with  the  world,  it  is  evident  that  the  progress 
of  that  industrial  organization  becomes  vital  to  him  and 
stimulates  his  cooperation. 

1 60.  Building    Ideals. — Entirely    occupied    in    the 
development  of  industry,  the  old-school  entrepreneur  con- 
trolled the  industrial  order  to  suit  himself.     But  now 

'Alexander  Bain,  Mental  and  Moral  Science. 


336  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

industrial  ideals  have  become  collective  and  their  realiza- 
tion gives  value  and  significance  to  industrial  life.  There- 
fore, they  must  be  formed  with  great  care. 

Vague  aspirations  have  to  be  made  clear  and  expressed 
concretely  before  they  can  vitally  animate  a  collectivity. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  joint  committee  of  industrial  en- 
gineering to  interpret  the  aspirations  and  inquire  into 
the  needs  of  workpeople  and  to  carry  out  the  projects 
of  the  ideal  institutions  of  their  trades.  But  in  order  to 
stimulate  the  interest  of  the  employees  in  actual  progress, 
the  committee  must  propagate  these  ideals  and  assimilate 
them  with  the  employees.  For  example,  an  ideal  may 
be  the  prevention  of  an  occupational  disease,  such  as  hook- 
worm, and  the  committee  may  determine  that  the  institu- 
tion which  symbolizes  this  ideal  is  a  bath  installation. 
If  the  cause  of  the  disease  and  the  effect  of  the  bath  are 
explained  to  the  employees,  and  if  the  dispositions  and 
dimensions  of  the  installation  are  talked  over  with  them, 
it  becomes  identified  with  the  workers'  selves  and  the 
execution  of  the  work  then  becomes  an  opportunity  for 
self-assertion.  They  love  such  a  form  of  progress  be- 
cause it  is  an  expression  of  themselves,  a  materialization 
of  their  own  ideas. 

Ideals  of  industrial  relations,  some  of  which  have  been 
listed  on  page  244  (section  112),  should  be  developed 
through  an  educational  campaign,  mainly  by  means  of 
conferences,  lectures,  house  organ,  etc.  Only  a  broad- 
minded  leader  can  efficiently  accomplish  such  a  work,  for 
the  worker  of  to-day  is  a  discriminating  fellow.  He 
receives  with  disdain  every  suggestion  of  the  Sunday- 
school  style. 

161.  Motives. — Too  much  emphasis  has  been  put 
on  the  possession  of  money,  as  though  that  alone  were 


INDUSTRIAL  ENGINEERING  337 

desirable.  Without  depriving  ourselves  of  anything 
we  need,  we  should  appreciate  other  things  which  we 
can  enjoy  without  possession.  In  reality,  things  have 
no  intrinsic  value;  value  arises  from  a  sentimental  rela- 
tionship established  between  our  minds  and  things.  Con- 
sequently, things  which  have  economic  value  are  not 
only  the  things  which  can  be  exchanged,  but  everything 
with  which  we  have  a  direct  or  indirect  relation  and  which 
we  can  enjoy  in  any  way.  We  attach  a  value  to  our 
environment  if  it  conforms  to  our  desires.  Therefore, 
by  making  industrial  progress  an  object  of  collective  in- 
terest, the  committees  are  not  only  builders  of  institu- 
tions; they  are  the  creators  of  values.  By  connecting 
specific  ideals  of  relation  and  of  institutions  for  health, 
safety,  security,  and  education  with  the  sentiments  cor- 
responding to  these  ideals,  they  stimulate  desires  in  the 
collectivity  and  create  a  dynamic  power  which  transfers 
interest  from  the  end  of  pursuit  to  the  means  for  attain- 
ment: production. 

For  example,  a  plan  of  a  school  which  shows  only  the 
premises  and  equipment  appeals  but  to  curiosity.  But 
even  without  exhibiting  the  plan,  if  you  show  what  the 
school  will  do  for  the  young  man,  you  stimulate  many  of 
his  and  his  father's  biotic,  sentimental,  and  intellectual 
desires.  And  so  on,  every  institution  which  realizes  in- 
dustrial progress  must  be  assimilated  with  the  spiritual 
world  of  the  workers  before  getting  a  vital  influence. 

162.  Traditions. — In  order  to  make  progress  ac- 
ceptable and  valuable,  the  inertia  which  proceeds  from 
ignorance,  prejudices,  dreams  of  Utopia,  and  erratic  be- 
liefs must  be  systematically  removed  by  education  and 
by  object  lessons.  A  standardization  of  conditions  and 
relations  based  on  common  agreements  between  em- 


338  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

ployers  and  employed  will  substitute  a  set  of  new  tradi- 
tions of  the  most  valuable  sort  for  outworn  traditions 
and  will  assure  stability  in  industry. 

163.  Interests. — Active   resistance  to  progress   in 
the  non-competitive  field  of  industry  arises  from  con- 
flicting interests  between  capital  and  labor  since  most 
demands  for  progress  involve  current  expenses  or  per- 
manent investment.     The  capitalist  must  be  persuaded 
that  not  only  has  the  development  of  industrial-engineer- 
ing works  become  a  social  duty  but  that  it  pays.    More- 
over, cooperation  in  planning  these  works  through  the 
committees  offers  the  invaluable  advantage  that  the  com- 
mittee can  exactly  define  a  program  of  improvement  and 
limit  the  expense  by  agreement  upon  the  quota  of  each 
year.     Thus  the  committee  eliminates  in  advance  occa- 
sions for  disputes.     On  the  other  hand,  the  opposition 
of  workers  to  the  development  of  welfare  works  will 
vanish  when  they  will  recognize  that  these  are  not  sub- 
stitutes for  just  reward. 

164.  Loyalty. — The   collectivity   of   labor  will   be 
loyal  to  the  industrial  system  if  correct  opinions  about 
this  system  are  formed  and  above  all  if  the  system  suc- 
cessfully promotes  the  progress  of  the  collectivity  of 
labor. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

SOCIAL  ENGINEERING 

165.  Definition  of  Social  Engineering. — The  evolu- 
tion of  the  labor  movement  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the 
interests  of  labor  have  become  predominant  in  society  and 
that  labor  can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  a  mere  com- 
modity. For  the  collectivity  of  labor,  the  ultimate  pur- 
pose of  industry  is  social  progress ;  that  is,  a  change  for 
social  amelioration  according  to  definite  standards  set  by 
human  desires.  This  progress  consists  not  only  in  build- 
ing social  institutions,  but  also  in  better  adjustment  of 
the  particular  interests  of  social  groups.  Consequently, 
the  progress  of  the  collectivity  of  labor  is  directly  de- 
pendent upon  the  progress  and  consent  of  the  other  social 
groups,  such  as  government  officials,  professional  men, 
scientists,  merchants,  bankers,  artisans,  farmers,  capi- 
talists, and  employers.  These  main  groups  are  still  further 
subdivided.  From  the  point  of  view  of  society,  labor 
itself  cannot  always  be  considered  as  a  unit.  The  em- 
ployees of  every  particular  industry  constitute  a  sub- 
group whose  especial  interests  and  duties  must  be  har- 
monized with  the  interests  and  duties  of  the  other  groups. 

Social  engineering  aims  at  this  correlation  by  secur- 
ing the  cooperation  of  individuals  within  their  groups 
and  of  the  different  groups  with  one  another.  This  in- 
volves three  functions,  as  follows :  first,  organizing  the 
different  groups  and  thus  relating  the  individual  to  his 

339 


340  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

group;  second,  organizing  the  body  of  representatives  of 
these  groups  and  thus  relating  individuals  to  society; 
third,  directing  social  forces  for  promoting  social  prog- 
ress. 

1 66.  Technique  of  Social  Engineering. — Promotion 
of  social  progress  depends  upon  the  direction  and  control 
of  human  forces — loyalty,  ideals,  motives,  traditions,  and 
conflicting  interests — so  that  constructive  activity  obtains. 

/.  Building  Loyalty. — Loyalty  to  the  social  order  re- 
sults from  successful  experience.  The  different  social 
groups  must  feel  that  the  present  social  order  is  bene- 
ficial to  them ;  they  must  feel  their  solidarity  with  society 
as  a  whole.  The  group  of  employers  is  unshakably  loyal 
to  the  present  social  order  because  this  group  has  been 
fully  benefited  by  the  opportunities  and  guarantees  of- 
fered by  this  order.  The  group  of  labor  is  indifferent 
or  hostile  because  it  has  found  out  by  experience  that 
its  support  of  the  present  social  order  has  not  always 
resulted  in  progress  for  labor. 

Loyalty  of  labor  will  be  gained  only  through  observ- 
ing the  law  of  conservation  of  energy;  that  is,  energy 
spent  in  production  must  reappear  in  constructive,  social 
betterment  for  labor.  Let  us  suppose,  as  a  hypothesis, 
that  production  has  been  leveled  down  so  that  men  pro- 
duce merely  what  they  consume.  Then,  there  would  be 
no  social  surplus  and  no  progress.  Now,  if  labor,  by 
dint  of  daily  extra  effort,  produces  a  large  annual  sur- 
plus over  and  above  consumption,  is  labor  entirely  com- 
pensated by  an  extra  money  reward  above  the  cost  of 
living?  In  so  far  as  consumption  goes,  the  personal 
transaction  is  complete  between  employer  and  employed; 
but  the  implicit  obligation  between  capital  and  labor  as 
social  groups  is  not  satisfied  until  the  group  of  labor  re- 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  341 

ceives,  as  compensation,  the  equivalent  of  its  collective 
service  in  the  form  of  social  betterment.  From  the  social 
point  of  view,  services  are  exchanged  by  groups.  The 
extra  compensation  paid  to  labor  above  consumption  and 
the  surplus  accumulated  by  capitalists  are  not  the  end 
of  endeavor,  but  merely  transitory,  distributive  forms 
of  wealth  for  further  exchange.  This  exchange  con- 
sists in  the  enjoyment  of  social  institutions  created  by 
this  surplus. 

Consequently,  in  spite  of  the  liberty  which  the  in- 
dividual capitalist  needs  to  enjoy,  capital  as  a  class  has 
a  new  collective  obligation  to  invest  social  surplus  in 
social  institutions  for  the  enjoyment  of  which  the  worker 
may  eventually  pay  his  dues.  The  working  people  do 
not  want  something  for  nothing.  They  are  willing  to 
pay  taxes,  fares,  rents,  etc.,  but  they  must  have  the 
things  which  these  charges  obtain  for  the  modern  citizen 
in  a  well-to-do  community.  Not  alone  are  consumable 
goods  valuable.  The  whole  environment  which  we  en- 
joy gives  worth  to  our  lives,  and  progress  in  our  environ- 
ment gives  significance  to  our  activity.  Labor  will  pro- 
duce only  in  so  far  as  it  can  enjoy  its  own  production. 
As  a  rule,  every  social  group  is  loyal  to  the  social  order 
only  when  this  order,  by  promoting  social  progress,  bene- 
fits the  group.  Under  such  circumstances,  people  love 
their  town  and  cling  to  it  from  generation  to  generation. 
In  the  best  of  the  old  countries,  there  is  no  migration  or 
emigration  because  the  home  locality  is  dear  to  its  in- 
habitants. 

Thus  understood,  loyalty  to  the  social  order  is  so 
closely  connected  with  industrial  activity  that  it  is  safe 
to  lay  down  the  principle  that  conscious  social  progress 
stimulates  the  desires  and  energy  necessary  to  create 


342  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

motives  for  productive  activity.  Social  progress  rewards 
class  cooperation;  it  secures  loyalty  to  society. 

77.  Forming  Ideals. — Human  ideals  shape  our  civiliza- 
tion and  give  rise  to  the  most  lasting  of  our  institutions. 
For  instance,  the  republican  form  of  government  sym- 
bolizes the  ideals  of  liberty  and  justice  in  society.  The 
committee  system  of  management  symbolizes  the  ideal 
of  liberty  and  justice  in  industry.  An  organization  for 
group  cooperation  symbolizes  an  ideal  of  solidarity. 

Social  ideals  are  closer  to  our  daily  experience. 
Among  modern  social  ideals  we  particularly  notice: 

1.  Comfort    for  the  working  class,    symbolized  by 
modern  houses; 

2.  Recreation,   by   means   of   theaters,   playgrounds, 
and  recreational  centers; 

3.  More  education,  by  means  of   schools,   libraries, 
public  lectures; 

4.  Religious   training   and   worship,    symbolized   by 
churches ; 

5.  Public  health,  as  promoted  by  a  public-health  de- 
partment and  hospitals; 

6.  Greater  security  of  employment  which  results  from 
the  public  employment  bureau; 

7.  Preparation  of   the   citizen  to  meet   successfully 
the  test  of  our  competitive  system,  which  should  be  the 
purpose  of  the  vocational  center; 

8.  Self-assertion  in  social  life,  such  as  is  promoted  by 
social  centers  and  social  works; 

9.  Reduction  of  the  cost  of  living,  an  urgent  social 
ideal  which  requires  an  adequate  agency; 

10.  Perfect  public  services,  such  as  are  provided  for 
competent  building  of  the  city  and  are  supported  by  an 
enlightened  public  opinion; 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  343 

ii.  The  greater  social  ideal  of  the  leveling  up  of  the 
citizens. 

Group  ideals  chiefly  consist  in  better  harmony 
through  quick  and  fair  means  of  adjusting  the  respective 
interests  of  the  groups.  True  ideals  can  be  built  only  if 
these  groups  correct  one  another's  prejudices,  define  cor- 
rect conceptions  of  one  another's  social  functions,  and 
educate  one  another  to  a  common  conception  of  social 
progress.  For  example,  the  question  whether  policemen 
may  affiliate  with  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  and 
may  have  the  right  to  strike  depends  upon  their  ideal 
relation  to  society.  A  court  can  make  a  temporary  set- 
tlement, but  only  the  opinion  and  good  will  of  the  police- 
men themselves,  in  agreement  with  other  groups,  can 
effect  a  permanent  and  satisfactory  'settlement.  The 
ideal  social  status  of  each  group  cannot  be  determined 
by  its  own  resolution  alone,  any  more  than  it  can  be 
determined  by  the  resolution  of  another  group  alone.  It 
requires  an  agreement  of  all  interested  groups. 

The  formation  of  all  these  ideals  requires  a  great  deal 
of  constructive  thinking  and  an  organization  of  public 
opinion ;  but  no  social  progress  can  be  realized  until  social 
ideals  are  clearly  formed  in  the  minds  of  people. 

///.  Social  Motivation. — The  motives  which  stimulate 
activity  for  the  realization  of  social  progress  are  biotic 
desires  and  sentiments. 

Biotic  desires  can  be  converted  into  motives  for  con- 
structive action.  As  Professor  E.  A.  Ross  says :  *  "The 
primordial  forms  of  biotic  energy  are  hunger  and  love, 
but,  by  check,  these  can  be  converted  into  other  orders  of 
desire  just  as  the  arrest  of  a  moving  body  transforms  its 
motion  into  heat,  light,  and  electricity."  The  check  which 
1  E,  A.  Ross,  Foundations  of  Sociology. 


344  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

can  convert  hunger  and  love  into  social  stimulus  may 
consist  in  a  higher  standard  of  living.  Such  a  standard 
makes  undesirable  the  lower  mode  of  satisfaction  and 
stimulates  energy  for  the  attainment  of  the  standard. 

A  motive  for  the  best  men  is  the  sentimental  desire 
of  being  primus  inter  pares,  that  is,  first  among  equals. 
Others  in  the  realization  of  an  idea  which  dominates  their 
personality  have  self-assertion  as  a  motive.  The  public 
may  be  stimulated  by  appeals  to  the  sentiment  connected 
with  any  given  proposal,  but  the  great  stimulus  is  an 
opportunity  to  cooperate  in  some  way  in  planning  insti- 
tutions for  social  progress.  It  is  not  merely  sufficient 
that  social  institutions  become  actual;  they  must  acquire 
personal  value.  Cooperation  stimulates  the  citizen's 
self-assertion  because  he  regards  every  forward  step  as 
the  realization  of  his  own  thought;  and  thus  progress 
becomes  dear  to  him. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  uses  this  stimulus  in  its 
new  labor  policy,  of  which  I  quote  the  following 
abstract : 2 

The  company  proposes  to  build  the  best  houses  possible 
for  the  men  to  live  in,  not,  be  it  stated,  as  a  charity,  but  as  a 
simple  business  plan,  with  a  maximum  profit  of  six  per  cent 
on  its  investment.  But  the  company's  directors,  officers,  and 
experts  will  not  decide  how  those  houses  will  be  built.  The 
men  will  decide.  The  architect  will  submit  plans  to  the 
men's  representatives. 

The  same  idea  holds  good  in  every  social  problem 
which  interests  labor.  Cooperation  with  labor  is  essen- 
tial, whereas  mere  concession  to  labor  is  wasteful  and 
demoralizing. 

1  New  York  Times  for  April  J,  1918. 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  345 

In  social  engineering,  there  is  no  attempt  at  high  effi- 
ciency. The  everlasting  imperfection  inherent  in  human 
work  must  be  expected  and  should  not  discourage  us,  for 
imperfection  is  the  material  to  be  worked  upon.  By 
getting  what  he  has  not  and  becoming  what  he  is  not, 
man  realizes  his  ideals  and  becomes  happy.  We  have 
studied  the  factors  of  power  which  direct  activity  toward 
social  progress.  In  the  following  two  sections  we  shall 
consider  the  factors  of  resistance  which  oppose  progress. 

IV.  Correcting    Tradition. — Beliefs    and    sentiments 
which  belong  to  the  social  order  and  which  have  been 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  form  a  code 
of  traditions  extremely  powerful  and  tenacious.     They 
frame  the  social  order  and  make  it  stable,  for  we  like 
a  world  with  which  we  are  assimilated.     But  some  out- 
worn and  foreign  traditions  tend  to  perpetuate,  among 
certain  groups,  conditions  out  of  harmony  with  our  pres- 
ent society.     Such,  for  example,  is  the  commodity  status 
of  labor,  a  heritage  of  past  social  ideals,  and  such  are 
the  many  obsolete  and   strange  traditions  brought  to 
America  from  all  old  countries.     These  traditions  con- 
flict so  much  with  our  modern  traditions  that  they  menace 
the  present  social  order  and  retard  progress.    Therefore, 
decrease  of  the  factor  of  resistance  to  progress  results 
from  substituting,  for  harmful  traditions,  new  traditions 
which   are   in   accord   with   our   institutions.     Foreign 
groups  must  be  trained  to  adapt  themselves.    If,  instead 
of  living  apart,  these  groups  came  into  association  with 
Americans,  they  would  give  up  many  injurious  traditions. 

V.  Harmonizing     Conflicting     Interests. — Conflicting 
interests  hinder  progress  in  two  ways.    First,  the  essen- 
tial but  remote  interest  of  a  group  often  conflicts  with 
its  own  immediate  interest.     For  example,  the  ultimate 


346  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

interest  of  labor  is  in  a  cheap  product  through  machine 
production,  while  the  immediate  result  of  introduction  of 
machinery  is  unemployment  and  lower  wages.  Again, 
to  the  North,  the  industrial  development  of  the  South 
means  at  first  fearful  competition;  while,  in  the  long  run, 
the  prosperity  of  the  South  will  open  new  markets  to  the 
North.  Secondly,  a  social  change  which  benefits  the 
community  hurts  the  interests  of  some  groups.  For  in- 
stance, the  introduction  of  electric  street-cars  and  taxi- 
cabs  hurt  the  vested  interest  in  the  hackney-coach  and 
caused  unemployment  among  drivers.  The  introduction 
of  the  electric  light  seemed  to  oppose  the  vested  inter- 
ests of  gas  plants;  but,  instead,  a  fashion  for  better 
lighting,  which  increased  the  consumption  of  gas,  re- 
sulted. The  development  of  canals  seems  to  oppose  the 
interests  of  railroads;  but  experience  proves  that  rail  and 
waterways  are  cooperators  rather  than  competitors.  In- 
deed, cheap  water  transportation  of  heavy  bulks,  such 
as  coal,  stones,  bricks,  sand,  and  the  like,  fosters  the 
development  of  industries  and  as  a  consequence  that  of 
railroads;  for  most  materials  and  finished  products  are 
best  transported  by  railways.  As  a  rule,  every  social 
change,  however  beneficial,  opposes,  or  seems  to  oppose, 
temporarily  or  permanently,  the  interests  of  some  group. 
Consequently,  in  order  to  hasten  social  progress,  the  los- 
ing group  should  be  indemnified,  its  interests  adjusted, 
and  its  vision  broadened  so  that  it  will  cease  to  oppose 
a  desirable  change. 

Another  opportunity  for  conflicts  of  interests  is  offered 
by  the  dependency  of  the  community  upon  those  groups 
which  can  control  the  essentials  of  social  life,  such  as 
railroads,  local  transportation,  docks,  electricity,  gas, 
water,  fire  engines,  police  protection,  post  office,  tele- 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  347 

graph,  telephone,  coal,  meat,  milk,  and  so  on.  Conflicts 
of  this  kind  present  most  serious  problems  to  society, 
because  the  monopoly,  which  these  groups  in  fact  enjoy, 
gives  them  endless  opportunity  for  exercising  tyranny 
upon  the  community.  The  solution  of  these  problems  is 
not  yet  in  sight,  and  it  is  not  a  simple  one.  Nevertheless, 
much  progress  can  be  achieved  by  organizing  the  opin- 
ion of  the  different  groups,  by  drawing  them  closer  for 
common  understanding,  by  supplying  substitutes  when- 
ever possible;  by  providing  means  of  reprisals,  and  by 
constructive  legislation.  As  a  principle,  these  monopo- 
lists of  essentials  should  be  so  related  to  society  as  not 
to  feel  omnipotence,  for  a  large  collectivity,  conscious  of 
its  omnipotence,  can  easily  take  a  criminal  mood. 

The  current  economic  conflicts,  which  in  competitive 
industries  arise  between  employer  and  labor,  are  much 
less  dangerous;  they  can  be  settled  by  collective  bargain- 
ing and  arbitration.  The  settlement  is  a  function  of 
industrial  engineering,  although,  in  certain  difficult  cases, 
the  judgment  of  other  non-industrial  groups  may  be  ap- 
pealed to  as  a  last  resort.  Since  the  settlement  to  a  large 
extent  depends  upon  the  competitive  power  of  the  parties, 
no  disinterested  board,  however  impartial,  can  adjust  such 
conflicting  interests.  A  democratic  adjustment  must 
come  from  the  collective  bargaining  of  the  parties  them- 
selves. When  there  is  a  losing  party,  the  weight  of  an 
enlightened  public  opinion  is  necessary  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  weaker  group  and  discipline  the  loser. 

167.  Individual  Liberty  vs.  Social  Interference. — 
Autocracy,  in  dealing  with  groups  of  men,  makes  the 
mistake  of  attempting  to  mold  the  individual  person- 
ality according  to  its  standard.  But  the  personal  world 
is  something  too  individual,  too  subtle,  and  also  too 


348  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

sacred  for  any  one  to  control  by  compulsion.  The  in- 
dividual must  have  a  chance  to  manifest  his  originality 
and  be  happy  in  his  own  way.  Moreover,  progress 
springs  from  variety.  The  joy  of  life,  which  is  the 
prime  energizing  force,  depends  upon  individual  liberty, 
as  William  James  truly  showed  in  the  following : 8 

The  ground  of  a  man's  joy  is  often  hard  to  hit  ...  it  is 
so  little  bound  with  external  .  .  .  that  it  may  touch  them 
not,  and  the  man's  true  life,  for  which  he  consents  to  live, 
lies  together  in  the  field  of  fancy  .  .  .  the  true  realism  is  to 
find  out  where  joy  resides.  For  to  miss  joy  is  to  miss  all. 

And  after  citing  cases  where  mere  fads  made  hardship 
enjoyable,  he  goes  on  quoting  from  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson : 

If  we  have  not  the  secret,  in  each  case  we  miss  the  per- 
sonal poetry,  the  enchanted  atmosphere,  that  rainbow  work 
of  fancy  that  clothes  what  is  naked  and  seems  to  ennoble 
what  is  base;  in  each,  life  falls  dead  like  dough  instead  of 
soaring  away  like  a  balloon  into  the  colors  of  the  sunset; 
each  is  true,  each  is  inconceivable;  for  no  man  lives  in  the 
external  truth  among  salts  and  acids,  but  in  the  warm, 
phantasmagoric  chamber  of  his  brain,  with  the  painted 
windows  and  the  storied  walls. 

And  James  goes  on: 

Now,  the  blindness  of  human  beings  ...  is  the  blindness 
with  which  we  all  are  afflicted  in  regard  to  the  feelings  of 
creatures  and  people  different  from  ourselves.  We  are  prac- 
tical beings,  each  of  us  with  limited  functions  and  duties  to 
perform.  Each  is  bound  to  feel  intensely  the  importance  of 
his  own  duties  and  the  significance  of  the  situations  that  call 
these  forth.  But  this  feeling  is  in  each  of  us  a  vital  secret, 
for  sympathy  with  which  we  vainly  look  to  others.  The 

"William  James,  On  Some  of  Life's  Ideals. 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  349 

others  are  too  much  absorbed  in  their  own  vital  secrets  to 
take  an  interest  in  ours.  Hence,  the  stupidity  and  injustice 
of  our  opinions,  so  far  as  they  deal  with  the  significance  of 
alien  lives.  Hence,  the  falsity  of  our  judgments,  so  far  as 
they  presume  to  decide  in  an  absolute  way,  on  the  value  of 
other  persons'  conditions  or  ideals.  .  .  .  The  first  thing  to 
learn  in  intercourse  with  others  is  non-interference  with 
their  own  peculiar  way  of  being  happy,  providing  those  ways 
do  not  assume  to  interfere  by  violence  with  ours.  No  one 
has  insight  into  all  the  ideals.  No  one  should  presume  to 
judge  them  offhand.  The  pretension  to  dogmatize  about 
them  in  each  other  is  the  root  of  most  human  injustices  and 
cruelties. 

All  attempts  at  unifying  public  opinion  have  always 
failed  because  too  many  irreconcilable  elements  are  in- 
volved. Men  differ  according  to  race,  station  in  life, 
mind,  character,  and  ideals.  Besides,  because  man  does 
not  remain  stationary  but  progresses,  his  opinions  vary  at 
each  stage  of  his  evolution.  Therefore,  liberty  of  opinion 
must  exist. 

The  social  world  cannot  be  built  upon  the  peculiarities 
of  individuals.  Indeed,  our  civilization  is  based  on  com- 
munity of  beliefs,  ideas,  desires,  sentiments,  and  aspira- 
tions which  bind  individuals  into  collective  spiritual 
organizations.  A  society  cannot  be  constructive  unless  a 
majority  agree  as  to  its  purposes.  So,  when  the  field  of 
opinion  is  restricted  to  occupational  or  city-building  in- 
terests, it  is  not  only  possible,  but  indispensable,  to  create 
a  majority  opinion  as  to  social  ideals,  traditions,  and 
interests. 

At  the  present  time  we  see  social  life  divided  into 
divergent  group  lives.  Each  of  these  groups  has  its  dis- 
tinctive public  opinion,  creed,  ideals,  moral  standards,  and 
leaders.  In  short,  each  has  a  more  or  less  distinct  life 


350  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

of  its  own.  The  bias  of  the  groups  is  the  "vital  secret" 
that  prevents  mutual  comprehension  and  creates  most 
conflicts.  Therefore,  social  progress  is  accomplished  by 
creating  social  ideals,  by  extending  interests  beyond  the 
groups,  and  by  increasing  human  solidarity.  Solidarity 
is  the  characteristic  of  our  time,  for,  says  Professor  E. 
A.  Ross :  4  "Now  we  see  growing  up  a  civic,  metropoli- 
tan, national,  or  even  racial  communion  binding  men  into 
mammoth  aggregates." 

Consequently,  the  purpose  of  social  interference  with 
individual  liberty  is  to  perfect  the  adaptation  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  his  group  and  the  adaptation  of  the  groups  to 
one  another,  in  order  to  realize  more  liberty  in  the  sense 
given  by  Professor  Woodrow  Wilson  in  the  following: 

The  individual  is  free  in  proportion  to  his  perfect  accom- 
modation to  the  whole,  or  to  put  it  in  the  other  way,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  perfect  adjustment  of  the  whole  to  his  life 
and  interests.  Men  are  free  in  society  in  proportion  as 
their  interests  are  accommodated  to  one  another,  and  that  is 
the  problem  of  liberty. 

1 68.  The  Organization  of  Thought. — The  evolu- 
tion of  the  individual  and  of  community  life  into  social 
life  has  made  imperious  the  organization  of  a  collective 
spirit  which  identifies  the  common  aspirations  of  its 
members.  The  idea  is  not  new,  but  it  is  becoming  the 
most  important  of  social  problems.  Professor  E.  A. 
Ross  says : B 

Somehow  the  thinking  of  many  men  has  resulted  in  a 
whole  composed  of  congruous  elements  fitted  together  as 
steel  beams  are  fitted  into  a  bridge  span.  The  process  of 

4  E.  A.  Ross,  Social  Control. 

'"Organization  of  Thought,"  American  Journal  of  Sociology, 
November,  1916. 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  351 

thus  articulating  ideas  may  be  termed  the  organisation  of 
thought.  Nor  does  system  building  exhaust  the  cooperation 
of  minds.  Common  opinion — class,  group,  or  public  opin- 
ion— is  usually  the  resultant  of  many  individual  contribu- 
tions, the  residue  left  after  the  offerings  of  each  have  been 
winnowed  in  the  mind  of  the  rest. 

As  society  develops,  the  proportion  of  us  who  bear  a 
hand  in  organizing  thought  becomes  less.  More  and  more 
our  headaches  come  from  the  effort  to  appropriate  the  fruits 
of  other  men's  thinking.  .  .  .  The  reason  for  this  concen- 
tration is  near  at  hand.  Team  thinking  goes  on  only  among 
persons  well  matched  in  equipment.  Hence,  as  soon  as  there 
appear  in  any  field,  men  of  special  knowledge  or  training, 
with  exceptional  faculties  in  the  way  of  collections,  labora- 
tories, travel,  mutual  access,  and  stimulating  association,  the 
rest  of  us  fall  silent  and  content  ourselves  with  walking 
henceforth  in  trails  other  men  have  blazed.  .  .  .  The  organ- 
ization of  thought  in  respect  to  fundamentals  is  left  to  a 
rather  small  number  of  men.  .  .  .  Our  growing  passive- 
ness  in  respect  to  constructive  thought  does  not  cause  us  to 
become  equally  passive  as  regards  decision.  Jealously  we 
cling  to  our  place  in  will  organization  even  if  we  drop  out 
of  thought  organization.  The  specialist  shall  not  steal  away 
the  layman's  freedom. 

And  again : 6 

If  the  commons  are  not  competent  to  judge  projects,  they 
are  at  least  competent  to  judge  results.  .  .  .  Grant  the  wise 
few  the  obligation  to  surrender  the  power  if  the  many  find 
the  consequences  not  to  their  liking.  The  choice  of  means 
and  methods  is  left  to  the  few  who  stand  or  fall  by  results. 

The  increasing  complexity  of  society  makes  it  neces- 
sary to  shift  social  control  from  the  hands  of  amateurs 
into  those  of  trained  men,  in  order  to  realize  a  systematic 
integration  of  the  members  of  society  and  exercise 

6  E.  A.  Ross,  Foundations  of  Sociology. 


352  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

rational  direction  on  the  active  pursuit  of  willing,  social 
progress — the  most  valuable  form  of  life  for  an  indus- 
trial people. 

169.  Organizing  Bodies. — Formation  of  democratic 
opinion  has  been  commenced  through  the  open-forum 
movement  which  is  developing  rapidly  in  many  parts  of 
this  country.7  The  object  of  the  social  center  advocated 
by  this  movement  is  to  bring  men  together  into  common 
counsel  in  order  to  clear  up  misunderstandings  and  dis- 
cover what  their  common  interest  is.  Up  to  the  present 
time,  the  action  of  these  social  centers  has  been  generally 
limited  to  social  education;  nevertheless,  it  seems  that 
these  centers  could  participate  in  social-development  work 
by  connecting  themselves  with  organized  bodies  of 
specialists.  Just  at  present,  it  is  the  intention  of  the 
most  prominent  engineering  societies  of  America  to 
cooperate  nationally  in  order  to  take  an  active  part  in 
public  affairs.8  Granting  that  social  development  goes 
along  with  the  building  of  the  city,  the  cooperation  of 
engineers  may  prove  invaluable  in  imparting  correct  in- 
formation on  technical  matters.  Furthermore,  the 
engineers  are  in  close  business  relations  with  the  workers 
and  through  the  engineering  societies,  which  already 
cover  the  whole  country,  can  easily  extend  privileges  of 
their  association  to  the  collectivity  of  labor. 

It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  a  national  organization 
for  the  purposes  of  social  engineering  will  develop  spon- 
taneously within  a  reasonable  time.  A  department  of 
social  engineering,  directed  by  sociologists,  engineers, 
business  men,  hygienists,  educators,  economists,  moral- 

7  See   E.  J.   Ward,   The  Social  Center;   Geo.   W.   Coleman,  De- 
mocracy in  the  Making;  and  Bulletins  of  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin. 

8  Mechanical  Engineering  for  July,  1919. 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  353 

ists,  city-builders,  and  administrators,  should  be  created. 
The  purpose  of  such  a  department  is  to  develop  the  tech- 
nique of  social  engineering  and  standardize  its  methods, 
to  foster  the  organization  and  representation  of  social 
groups,  to  collect  information  about  the  activities  of  these 
groups,  and  to  publish  impartial  reports  on  questions  of 
actual  interest  so  that  an  enlightened  public  opinion  may 
result.  This  department  should  also  interpret  the  facts 
from  different  points  of  view,  forecast  or  help  to  fore- 
cast the  consequences  of  popular  actions,  build  new  social 
valuations,  and  suggest  directions  for  social  activities. 
With  the  help  of  such  a  competent  department,  local 
groups  can  organize  rapidly  for  a  constructive  purpose 
by  an  effective  control  of  the  social  forces — loyalty, 
ideals,  motives,  traditions,  and  interests.  In  some  sort 
of  committee  or  forum,  the  capitalist,  the  technicians  of 
different  branches,  the  workpeople,  and  all  other  citi- 
zens can  meet  and  talk  freely  about  their  different  prob- 
lems, adjust  their  respective  interests,  and  support  or 
criticize  the  work  of  the  administration.  The  aim  of  such 
a  fully  constituted  social  organization  is  not  only  to 
achieve  social  progress  but  also  to  afford  opportunity  to 
everybody  to  share  activity  in  social  life.  ,  Man  wants  to 
do  something,  good  or  bad;  but  he  works  constructively 
when  he  has  opportunity  to  do  so. 

170.  Formation  of  Public  Opinion. — Social  control 
is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  book;  its  methods  are  de- 
veloped by  sociologists.  The  principle  involved  in  the 
formation  of  a  democratic  public  opinion  consists  in 
developing  opinions  by  action  and  reaction  between  leader 
and  followers.  Professor  Charles  A.  Ellwood  said :  9 

•"Making  the  World  Safe  for  Democracy,"  Scientific  Monthly, 
vol.  vii,  p.  511   (1918). 


354  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

If  we  don't  have  free  thought  and  free  public  discussion 
before  a  policy  is  entered  upon  we  cannot  have  that  process 
of  mutual  education  by  which  the  most  rational  ideas  are 
brought  to  prevail.  It  is  only  through  free  discussion  and 
the  formation  of  public  opinion  .  .  .  that  democracy  can  be 
a  safe  and  efficient  means  of  social  control.  In  democracy, 
then,  it  is  public  opinion  which  is  the  force  that  lies  back  of 
the  power  of  all  regulative  institutions,  and  democratic  so- 
ciety can  be  efficient  and  successful  only  in  proportion  as  it 
succeeds  in  making  public  opinion  rational  and  powerful. 

It  is  upon  a  free  and  untrammeled  press,  yet  one  con- 
trolled by  a  high  sense  of  social  obligation,  that  the  forma- 
tion of  a  rational  public  opinion  depends.  The  success  of 
democratic  governmental  control  will  depend  not  so  much 
upon  governmental  coercion  of  the  individual  as  upon  elicit- 
ing his  spontaneous  initiative  and  intelligent  cooperation. 
.  .  .  To  be  a  success,  then,  modern  democracy  must  educate 
the  whole  body  of  citizens  in  knowledge  of  social  situations 
and  in  a  sense  of  social  obligation  and  especially  in  self- 
government. 

By  fraternity  we  mean  such  sympathy,  understanding  and 
good  will  among  the  members  of  a  group  that  what  they  do 
collectively  represents  the  uncoerced  will  of  all — a  spon- 
taneous expression  of  the  inner  psychic  unity  of  the  group 
or  at  least  of  a  majority  of  its  members — through  like- 
mindedness. 

Democracy  does  not  preclude  leadership  or  the  highest 
degree  of  cooperation  with  leaders.  Doubtless  the  mass  of 
men  cannot  be  trained  to  be  experts  .  .  .  and  modern 
democracy  has  not  yet  fully  awakened  to  the  importance  of 
training  its  leaders. 

Leadership  in  social  engineering  may  come  from  the 
most  unexpected  source.  The  leader  need  not  be  an 
expert  to  give  impetus  to  a  movement.  He  is  the 
superior  individual  who  believes  in  an  idea,  initiates  and 
runs  an  organization,  and  devotes  his  thought  and  his 
time  to  it  during  as  many  years  as  are  necessary.  Other 


SOCIAL  ENGINEERING  355 

men  imitate  and  follow  him.  The  expert  is  necessary  to 
develop  ideas  and  methods,  but  he  seldom  has  the  faith 
and  devotion  of  a  leader. 

The  formation  of  social  ideals  may  differ  a  little  from 
the  formation  of  ideals  by  individuals.10  Social  centers 
offer  opportunity  for  capitalists  to  come  in  contact  with 
specialists,  workingmen,  and  other  people,  to  work  to- 
gether in  order  to  make  explicit  what  the  people  want, 
and  to  get  acquainted  with  the  "vital  secret"  of  one 
another.  Pain  and  pleasure,  as  the  great  educators  of 
mankind,  will  suggest  vague  aspirations  which  first  must 
be  interpreted  and  then  expressed  in  terms  of  some  con- 
crete proposal.  But  this  proposal  is  not  yet  an  ideal, 
because  it  is  unassimilated.  The  primary  impression 
which  it  makes  in  the  minds  of  individuals  provokes 
their  objections  and  makes  their  desires  clearer.  A  recip- 
rocal action  between  leader  and  followers  will  succeed. 
It  consists  in  deepening,  modifying,  and  effacing  the 
primary  impression  by  appeals  to  reason  and  emotions, 
by  suggestion,  by  prestige,  by  examples  of  others,  and  by 
object  lessons.  Such  reciprocal  influence  and  coopera- 
tion may  produce,  for  the  information  of  the  mass  of 
people  who  do  not  participate  in  social  activities,  decisions 
clothed  with  unique  authority. 

The  promotion  of  leadership,  the  exact  constitution 
and  attributes  of  social  centers  or  group  representation, 
the  specific  objects  of  pursuit,  the  way  by  which  to  en- 
force or  induce  investment  of  capital  in  social  works,  are 
open  questions,  and  are  beyond  the  scope  of  this  book, 
whose  object  is  merely  the  study  of  the  engineering  of 
human  forces  involved  in  industry.  If  I  have  made  clear 
that  industrial  life  consists  in  a  closed  cycle  of  transfor- 

19  See  Chapter  XXI,  section  98, 


356  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

mation  of  energy,  the  efficiency  of  which  depends  upon 
the  correlation  of  production,  industrial  engineering, 
and  social  engineering,  my  present  task  has  been  accom- 
plished. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

CONCLUSION 

171.  An  Historical  Summary. — On  account  of  the 
spirit  of  the  old  time,  of  the  amount  of  initiative  re- 
quired, and  of  the  tremendous  risk  involved  in  early 
business,  industry  has  developed  under  the  autocratic 
principle.  Autocracy  based  on  the  authority  of  the  mas- 
ter and  on  the  servility  of  the  worker  resulted  naturally 
in  abuses  on  the  one  hand  and  in  hostility  on  the  other. 
Free  competition  in  industry  and  unrestrained  individual- 
ism of  employers  and  laborers  made  laborers  industrial 
dependents,  and,  as  industry  grew,  these  two  parties 
formed  distinct  classes.  The  common  misery  of  laborers 
quickened  their  feeling  of  injustice  and  developed  class 
consciousness.  Then  the  classes  of  employers  and  wage- 
earners  grew  hopelessly  separated  by  sectarian  spirit,  and 
the  class  struggle  followed. 

At  present  the  old  abuses  have  been  generally  corrected 
and  conditions  have  considerably  improved.  Neverthe- 
less, antagonism  increases.  Modern  employers  have  been 
rather  anxious  to  satisfy  employees,  but,  misled  by  the 
letter  of  the  demands  of  labor,  employers  have  granted 
concession  after  concession  until  even  their  right  to 
profits  has  been  questioned.  Unfortunately,  concession 
which  is  obtained  by  compulsion  is  unsatisfactory,  for 
the  only  limit  to  its  extension  is  the  complete  subjugation 
of  capital  by  labor.  An  arbitrary  settlement  by  compro- 

357 


358  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

mise  under  pressure  is  governed  by  no  principle.  It  is  a 
series  of  partial  defeats  and  surrenders  which  will  stop 
only  when  there  is  nothing  left  to  concede. 

The  crude  methods  of  strike  and  lockout  have  been 
softened  by  a  system  of  conciliation  and  arbitration, 
more  human  and  less  expensive.  But  we  must  recognize 
that  this  is  not  a  solution,  since  it  fails  to  remove  the 
cause  of  conflicts.  So,  the  consequent  state  of  warfare 
ever  continues,  undermines  industry,  and  menaces  civil- 
ization itself. 

172.  The  Solutions  to  the  Industrial  Problem. — 
The  review  of  the  different  solutions  offered  by  socialism, 
state  socialism,  cooperatives,  and  monopoly  which  have 
been  devised  to  perfect  the  control  of  production  shows 
first  the  deficiency  of  socialism  as  a  rational  system  which 
is  not  evolved  from  experience  and  shows,  secondly,  the 
limitations  of  the  other  systems  of  control.    There  is  no 
royal  road  to  industrial  peace  through  substitution  of  our 
present  system  for  another.     But  a  hopeful  vision  of 
happier  relations  may  be  seen  in  a  readjustment  of  our 
system  to  the  true  spiritual  nature  of  man  and  to  the 
aspirations  of  the  collectivity. 

173.  The  Laws  of  Life  Must  Govern. — Indifference 
to  production  paralyzes  industry.     The  women  who  re- 
cently replaced  men  in  the  workshop  produced  from  25 
per  cent  to  200  per  cent  more  than  the  men  whom  they 
replaced.    Therefore,  the  promotion  of  good  will  for  the 
purpose  of  releasing  the  latent  energy  of  men  would  be 
a  considerable  advantage  to  the  nation.     There  is,  how- 
ever, nothing  inherent  in  the  philosophy  of  labor  which 
compels  it  to  decrease  production.    Labor  unrest  has  been 
respectively  ascribed  to  the  commodity  status  of  labor, 
to  dependency,  to  working  conditions,  to  living  condi- 


CONCLUSION  359 

tions,  to  subjugation,  to  insecurity,  to  loss  of  individu- 
ality, and  to  maldistribution  of  riches.  All  these  causes 
contribute  to  unrest.  Their  combination  creates  an 
environment  in  which  the  worker  lives  merely  to  work 
and  in  which  every  condition  occasions  a  restriction  of 
life.  In  the  ideal  industrial  order,  the  worker  works  to 
live  and  all  his  environment  promotes  the  expansion  of 
life.  This  is  essential  to  effective  reformation.  There- 
fore, a  stable  relationship  between  labor  and  other  groups 
is  not  predetermined  by  any  precedent  interest  and  cannot 
be  established  by  force.  It  must  be  governed  by  the 
laws  of  life;  that  is  to  say,  it  must  promote  continuous 
material  progress  and  the  spiritual  emancipation  of  labor. 

Justice  demands  that  earnings  be  proportionate  to 
efficiency,  that  a  minimum  standard  of  living  be  made 
secure  to  the  old  folks  as  well  as  to  the  workers,  and 
that  labor  has  a  just  share  in  general  prosperity.  At 
present,  all  open-minded  business  men  recognize  that  the 
prosperity  of  labor  does  not  result  at  the  expense  of 
employers.  The  recent  tremendous  growth  of  social  ser- 
vices makes  it  necessary  to  change  our  point  of  view 
toward  social  surplus.  When  life  was  more  individual, 
the  possession  of  wealth  was  the  only  ideal.  Now,  on 
account  of  the  development  of  collective  life,  the  disposal 
of  the  social  surplus  for  social  enjoyment  has  become  a 
more  vital  problem  than  a  fairer  distribution  of  wealth. 

The  spiritual  emancipation  of  labor  presents  two 
phases,  one  personal  and  the  other  collective.  In  busi- 
ness the  individuality  of  the  worker  who  is  now  merged 
in  the  crowd  must  be  revived  in  order  to  treat  adequately 
his  particular  interests  and  to  give  him  opportunity  for 
self-expression.  In  society,  he  must  be  trained  to  stand 
prosperity  and  become  a  responsible  citizen.  Further- 


360  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

more,  the  group  of  labor  is  one  of  the  parties  to  industry 
and,  as  such,  must  be  treated  collectively.  The  spiritual 
emancipation  of  labor  has  begun  through  the  committee 
system  for  cooperation  in  management.  Such  coopera- 
tion corrects  the  destructive  tendencies  of  labor  by  invest- 
ing the  committees  with  a  constructive  mission.  The 
constructive  ability  of  a  collectivity  is  not,  however,  spon- 
taneous; it  is  determined  by  the  organization  of  thought 
and  the  right  stimulation  of  sentiments.  Consequently, 
the  success  of  the  system  depends  primarily  upon  the 
ability  of  its  leadership  to  realize  true  progress.  The 
modern  leader  wins  the  good  will  of  labor  by  entering 
into  the  spirit  of  his  organization  and  by  substituting 
scientific  treatment  of  the  collectivity  for  the  old  whole- 
sale treatment  of  labor  as  a  soulless  body. 

The  object  of  human  engineering  is  to  attempt  to  dis- 
close the  laws  which  govern  the  life  of  industrial  collec- 
tivities and  to  set  forth  the  means  by  which  their  activi- 
ties may  be  controlled  for  the  expansion  of  life,  which  we 
identify  with  the  promotion  of  progress. 

174.  Engineering  of  Human  Forces. — Industry  has 
become  a  social  organism  in  which  the  worker  can  no 
longer  be  dissociated  from  the  collectivity  of  labor  nor 
from  the  citizen.  His  daily  production,  his  industrial 
relationship,  and  his  social  status  have  sympathetic  con- 
nections one  with  another  which  shape  the  meaning  of 
his  life.  Therefore,  production,  industrial  engineering, 
and  social  engineering  must  be  controlled  and  correlated. 
These  activities  can  be  controlled  by  proper  management 
of  the  human  forces — loyalty,  motives,  ideals,  traditions, 
and  interests.  The  engineering  of  these  forces  consti- 
tutes a  system  simple  enough  to  be  put  into  practice  by 
business  men.  Industry  and  society  must  be  so  correlated 


CONCLUSION  361 

as  to  form  a  system  in  which  the  cooperation  of  the  indi- 
vidual in  production  will  inevitably  result  in  social 
progress  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  individual.  Collective 
ideals  convert  personal  desires  into  collective  desires. 
Then  the  emotion  of  desire  intensified  by  mass  sugges- 
tion stimulates  the  individual  to  realize  through  produc- 
tion the  collective  ideals.  Such  organic  relation  between 
individual  and  group  realizes  self-government  in  a  natu- 
ral way.  It  need  not  appeal  to  self-sacrifice,  because  it 
reconciles  the  conflicting  tendencies  of  personal  and  social 
interests.  It  conforms  to  the  law  of  conservation  of 
energy  which  demands  that  an  equivalent  of  every  ex- 
penditure of  energy  appear  in  an  enjoyable  form  of 
progress  in  proper  time  and  place.  Individual  workers 
occasionally  promote  efficiency  under  a  system  of  man- 
agement which  thoroughly  protects  their  own  interests. 
But,  in  order  that  cooperation  have  social  significance 
and  become  a  moral  obligation,  the  groups  of  workers,  of 
employers,  and  of  capitalists  must  have  common  ideals, 
beyond  individual  earnings.  They  must  cooperate  in 
promoting  progress.  Labor  will  cooperate  in  production 
if  employers  cooperate  in  promoting  progress  in  safety, 
security,  health,  comfort,  justice,  and  spiritual  develop- 
ment; and  if  capitalists  cooperate  in  promoting  social 
progress,  both  through  investment  in  social  institutions 
and  service  in  social  engineering.  In  business,  it  is  vain 
to  demand  cooperation  without  return.  Therefore,  a 
system  of  correct  relations  is  needed,  in  which  the 
cooperation  of  all  wins  the  good  will  of  each. 

175.  The  Committee  System  and  Cooperation. — 
The  committee  system  is  an  admirable  instrument  for 
cooperation  in  management  because  it  is  suitable  for  the 
spiritual  organization  of  industrial  forces.  A  complete 


362  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

system  of  committees  offers  endless  opportunities  to  the 
energetic  workers  to  cooperate  frankly  and  honorably  in 
a  constructive  way  for  the  great  cause  of  humanity. 
They  will  like  better  to  spend  their  surplus  energy  for 
good  than  for  evil.  If  they  can  show  positive  results 
in  terms  of  progress,  they  will  win  followers  and  trans- 
form the  industrial  populations  into  unshakable  sup- 
porters of  the  social  system.  The  committee  system, 
extended  to  social  engineering,  can  bring  together  the 
representatives  of  the  different  social  groups  for  the  pur- 
poses of  common  education,  collective  bargaining,  pro- 
motion of  progress,  and  formation  of  public  opinion. 
The  future  stability  of  society  depends  upon  the  balance 
of  power  of  the  different  groups. 

A  common  illusion  is  to  suppose  that  some  state  of 
affairs  might  be  permanently  satisfactory;  but  it  is  vain 
to  look  for  a  life  devoid  of  disagreement.  The  ideal  is 
not,  therefore,  to  create  a  permanent  order  of  things, 
but  to  develop  an  organization  for  spontaneous  adap- 
tation of  the  different  social  groups.  Discontent  will 
ever  result  from  the  limitations  of  our  attainments, 
whatever  may  be  the  degree  of  advance  of  civilization. 
Man's  faith  in  his  ability  to  realize  the  variations 
which  pain  suggests  is  the  unfailing  appeal  to  joyous 
effort.  Imperfection  is  the  raw  material  upon  which 
man  works  eternally.  The  emotion  of  struggle  and 
victory  is  the  essence  of  happiness. 

(1) 


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GALLOWAY,  Lee,  Organization  and  Management. 

GARRIGUET,  L'Evolution  actuelle  du  Socialism  en  France. 
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GUYOT,   Yves,    Where  and   Why  Public   Ownership   Has 
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363 


364  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

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KELLY,  R.  W.,  Hiring  the  Worker.    (New  York,  Engineer- 
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KING,  W.  L.  MacKenzie,  Industry  and  Humanity.     (Bos- 
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LE  BON,  Gustave,  The  Crowd.     (London,  T.  Fisher  Un- 
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Psychology  of  People.    (London,  T.  Fisher  Un- 

win.) 

La  Psychologic  des  Foules.    (Paris,  F.  Alcan.) 

La  Vie  des  Verites.     (Paris,  E.  Flammarion.) 

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LE  DANTEC,  La  Science  de  la  Vie. 
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PERIODICALS 

American  Journal  of  Sociology: 

July,  1915,  H.  Langerock,  "Professionalism." 

July,  1916,  E.  A.  Ross,  "The  Organization  of  Effort." 

November,    1916,  E.   A.   Ross,   "The  Organization   of 

Thought."  ' 
American  Machinist: 

August    i,    1918,    Ellsworth    Sheldon,    "An    Industrial 
Democracy." 

August  i,  1918,  "William  Filenes'  Sons  Co." 

October  24,  1918,  "Babson  Conference." 
Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social 
Sciences: 

September,  1904,  W.  Macarthur,  "Political  Action  and 
Trade  Unionism." 

January,  1919,  V.  Everit  Macy,  "Seven  Points  for  a  Re- 
construction Labor  Policy." 

J.  D.  Rockefeller,  Jr.,  "Representation  in  In- 
dustry." 


366  HUMAN  ENGINEERING 

C.  M.  Schwab,  "Capital  and  Labor." 

March,  1919,  Irving  Fisher,  "Humanizing  Industry." 

S.   C.   Mason,   "How   American   Manufacturers 

View  Employment  Relations." 

Automotive  Industries: 

1919,  Harry  Tipper,  series  of  articles. 
Blast  Furnace: 
February,     1919,     "Steel     Plant     Industrial     Relations 

Studied." 
C  ostler's  : 

June,  1918,  A.  Ramsay,  "Industrial  Revolution." 
Current  Opinion: 
August,  1918,  "Why  Mr.  Benson  Has  Resigned  from  the 

Socialist  Party." 
Electrical  World: 

March,  1919,  R.  H.  Rice,  "Improving  Relations  of  .Em- 
ployer and  Employees." 
Engineer: 

September  20  and  27,  E.  T.  Elbourne,  "Labour  Adminis- 
tration." 
Industrial  Management: 

October,  1917,  D.  S.  Kimball,  "Labor  Maintenance  as  a 

Factor  in  Management." 
December,  1917,  E.  F.  Henry,  "One  Price   System  of 

Wages." 

March,  1918,  R.  W.  Kelly,  "Labor  Factors  in  Our  Ship* 
ping  Program." 

J.  D.  Hackett,  "Standardization  of  the  Causes  of 

Leaving  Jobs." 

April,  1918,  Hon.  W.  B.  Wilson,  "Administration  of  War 
Labor  Problems." 

-  H.  T.  Wade,  "International  Standards." 
Iron  Trade  Review: 
December  12,  1918. 
Labor  Review: 

October,  1918. 
Literary  Digest: 

February  8,  1919,  "Labor's  Voice  at  the  Peace  Table." 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  367 

Mechanical  Engineering: 

June,   1919,  L.   P.  Alford,  "The   Status   of  Industrial 

Relations." 
July,    1919,   "Report  of  the   Committee  on  Aims   and 

Organization." 
Royal  Philosophical  Society  of  Glasgow: 

1913,  G.  N.  Barnes,  "Cooperation  in  Relation  to  the  In- 
dustrial System." 
Scientific  Monthly: 

Vol.  7,  1918,  p.  511,  C.  A.  Ellwood,  "Making  the  World 

Safe  for  Democracy." 
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December,  1918,  F.  Adler,  "The  Punishment  of  Indi- 
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December  12,  1914,  "Criticism  of  Existing  Trade-Union- 
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— December  7,  1918,  F.  Frankfurter,  "The  Con- 
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INDEX 


Accidents,  20. 
Adaptation,   179. 
Affective  desires,  223. 
Affective  phenomena,  221. 
American  Federation  of  La- 
bor, 62. 

Antagonism,  26,  32,  60,  357. 
Appeals,  224,  225,  250. 
Appetites,  255. 
Apprenticeship,     18,     26,     36, 

95; 

Arbitrariness,  31,  34,  43,  44, 

109,  357- 

Arbitration,  61,  154,  358. 
Assimilating  manager,  311. 
Associations,  60,  186. 
Authority,  225,  265. 
Autocracy,  10,  26,  43,  115,  277, 

347,  357- 


Bargaining,  58,  61,  108,  347. 
Basic  eight-hour  day,  no. 
Behavior.    See  Conduct. 
Beliefs,  77,  183,  239-246,  271- 

283,     345-       See     also 

Opinions. 
Bias,     160,     192,     273,     328, 

350. 

Biotic  desires,  222,  255-260. 
Blackboard,  318. 
Bolshevism,  77. 
Bondholders,  16. 
Bourgeoisie,  31,  33. 
Bulletin,  320. 


Capital,  claims  of,  28,  58,  97. 
depreciation  of,  20. 
diffusion  of,  17,  104. 
early,  12,  14,  25. 
evolution  of,  14,  17,  56,  96, 

117. 
functions  of,  97,  105,  297, 

341- 

inducement  to,  14,  80,  102. 
prestige  of,  15. 
rate  of  return,  16. 
responsibility  0^95,97,99, 
114,  117,  183,  297,  341. 
speculation,  14,  15. 
its  title  to  profits,  102. 
risk  of,  80,  102,  357. 
Capitalism,  69,  75. 
Capitalists,  15,  16,  17,  96,  99, 

100,  341,  355,  360. 
Character,  231,  272. 
Charity,  31,  70,  114,  185. 
"C.  G.  T.,"  71. 
Class,  31,  32,  33,  73,  100,  103, 
114,  115,  121,  124,  207, 
271. 
Class  struggle,  60,  61,  67,  72, 

75,  357- 
Coercion,  31,  60,  72,  96,  116, 

184,  219,  223,  225. 
Collective,  bargaining,  61, 108, 

347- 

conduct,  187-196. 
decision,  252. 
ideals,  69,   185,  213,  215, 

217. 


370 


INDEX 


Collective,  life,  30,  201,  349, 

359- 
loyalty,  207,  209,  271,  292. 

ownership,  69,  80,  85. 

progress,  202. 

spirit,  35,  96,  186,  195,  215, 

294,  350,  354- 

Collective  entities.     See  Cor- 
poration,  Crowd,   Mob, 
Public,  and  Sect. 
Collectivity,  97,  187,  199,  200. 
Colorado  plan  of  labor  repre- 
sentation, 139. 
Combinations,  14,  52,  56. 
Commerce,  12. 

Committees.    See  Works  com- 
mittees. 

Communism,  66,  69,  77. 
Competition,  13,  26,  50,  56,  59, 

62,  1 08,  150,  329,  357. 
Compulsion,  28,  36,  96,  348. 
Conciliation,  140,  153,  154,  358. 
Conduct,   1 20. 

control  of,  218,  251,  271. 
influence  of  animal  nature 

on,  227,  255. 
influence    of    beliefs    on, 

239-246,  271-283,  345. 
influence  of  pleasure  on, 

228,  260. 
influence    of    reason    on, 

247-250. 

influence  of  sentiment  on, 
230-238,   261,   270,  344. 
Conscience,  182. 
Consent,  34,  122,  225. 
Constitution,  161,  303. 
Constraint,  184,  219,  223,  225. 
Constructive  action,  200. 
Consumer,  100,  108. 
Contagion,  188,  236,  275,  279. 
Cooperation,    class,    124,    207, 
271,  339,  344,  361. 


Cooperation,  definition  of,  3, 5. 
of   employers,   5,   9,   204, 

361. 

end  of,  14,  95,  200. 
for  service,  8,  95,  304,  361. 
industrial,  201,  202,  208. 
in  social  life,  II,  106,  200, 

344- 

in  management,  43,  197, 
299»  361.  See  also 
Works  committees. 

implies  consent,  122,  225. 

need  for,  9,  197,  207. 

spirit  of,  3,  199,  206,  215, 

237,  252,  271. 
Cooperatives,  aims  of,  55,  85. 

causes  of  success,  90. 

characteristics  of,  86. 

classes  of,  86. 

field  of,  56. 

influence  of,  88. 

origin  of,  55,  85. 
Corporation,  14,  15,  194,  196. 
Corruption,  82. 
Cost,  20,  in,  207. 
Cost  of  living,  64,  95,  112. 
Craftsmen,  II,  38,  199. 
Crowd,  187,  195. 
Custom,  281. 


Decision,  120,  248,  251. 
Democracy,  building  men,  116, 

119,   122. 
cooperation    and    consent, 

122,  225. 
equality     of     opportunity, 

120. 

industrial,  142. 
principles  of,  116. 
and  social  control,  354. 
Depreciation,  20. 
Depression,  50. 


INDEX 


Desires,  220,  222,230,261,266. 
Directions,  224,  225. 
Direct  action,  64,  74,  128. 
Director    of    personnel,     165, 

298. 
Discipline,  44,  60,  82,  90,  122, 

225,  238. 
Duty,  1 80,  196. 
Dynamic  impulse,  261,  266. 


Economic  pursuit,  199. 

Efficiency,  18,  52,  90,  104,  105, 
108,  207,  304,  359. 

Effort,  219. 

Employer.  See  also  Entrepre- 
neur, abuses  of,  26,  113, 

357- 

as  a  benefactor,  26,  28. 
class  of,  31,  32,  33,  73. 
combinations  of,  50,  54, 

58,  61. 
cooperation  of,  5,  99,  322, 

330- 
master  and  servant,  25,  73, 

96. 
misunderstanding  labor,  4, 

29,  30,   177- 
organization  of,  61,  98. 
party  to  industry,  100. 
prestige  of,  34. 
responsibility    of,    16,    19, 

31,  156,  183. 
Employment,  26,  73,  95. 
Employment  management,  44. 
Entrepreneur,     (see   Employ- 
er), as  employer,  14,  26. 
his  title  to  profits,  101. 
responsibility  of,  31,  157, 

183- 

Equality,  120. 

Evolution,  of  capital,  14,  56. 
of  industry,  11,  19,  85. 


Evolution,  of  occupations,  19. 
of  ownership  right,  13,  80, 

99- 

of  relations,  25-37, 148, 151* 
of  trade  unions,  151.    See 

also  Trade  unions, 
of  socialism,  67. 
of  status  of  labor,  18. 
Exchange,    n,    14,    207. 
Exploitation,  15,  26,  28,  29,  30, 
31,  32,  69,  96,  109. 


Fashion,  275,  280. 

Factory  system,  12,  18,  19,  23, 

25,  26. 

Fatigue,  26,  40,  204,  219,  257. 
Fear,  37,  126,  259. 
First  impressions,  275. 
Foreman,  19,  26,  42,  43,  311. 
Forum,  352. 


Government,    industrial,    133, 

149. 

employment  bureau,  47. 
functions  of,  79. 
operation,  56,  82. 
ownership,  67,  80. 
regulation,  80. 
self,    1 1 6,    1 20,    122,    126, 

155,  157,  354,  360. 
Good  will,  42,  43,  90,  204,  206, 

296,  358. 
Graphs,  317. 

Grievance  settlement,  140,  153. 
Groups,  100,  191,  339,  349. 


Handicraftsman,  n,  38,  199. 
Happiness,  198,  200,  219,  263, 

347- 
Harvester  plan,  144. 

Hatred,  33,  61. 


37* 


INDEX 


Hours  of  work,  26,  64,  70,  83, 
no. 

Human  engineering  in  indus- 
try, 299,  329. 
in  society,  339-356. 
principles  of,  287. 
purpose  of,  287,  360. 
technique  of,  287-297,  299. 

Human  aspirations,  199. 

Human  nature,  34,   116,   121, 
179. 

Human  problem,  46. 


Ideals,  210,  217. 

collective,    69,    185,    213, 

215,  217. 

definition  of,  210. 
formation    of,    213,    215, 

300,  315,  335,  342,  355- 
function  of,  179,  202,  213, 

273,  292. 
of  industrial  engineering, 

245- 

lack  of,  83,  291. 
placing,   44,   213. 
misleading,  199. 
of    production,    90,     185, 

213,  3J5»  3!8-322. 
of  society,   185,  200,  213, 

244,  342,  355,  359. 
of  socialists,  69. 
Illusions,  239-246,  274,  348. 
Imitation,  264. 
Individualism,    198,    199,    201, 

359- 

Individual  bargaining,  58,  108. 
Individual  decision,  251. 
Industrial,  betterments,  113. 

collectivity,    199,   200. 

democracy,  142. 

engineering,  329-338. 

government,  133. 


Industrial,  life,  199,  201. 

production,  12,  18,  19,  23, 

25,  26. 

relations,  117,  124,  336. 
system,  21,  26,  29,  30,  54, 
59,    1 06,   107,  200,  206, 
207. 
Industry,  control  of,  54,  56,  69, 

73- 

a  distinct  entity,  13,  100. 
early,   11,   14,  20,  25,  28, 

33,  38,  66,  79,  85. 
evolution  of,  n,  19,  85. 
financing,  14,  16. 
large  scale,  18,  23,  34,  54. 
leadership  in,  16,  26,  33, 

46,  82. 

morality  in,  196. 
new  meaning  of,  117. 
origin  of,  25. 
parties  to,  15,  17,  99,  100, 

103,  192,  359- 
purpose    of,    13,    95,  117, 

119,  201. 
proceeds  of,  17,  58,  96,  97, 

101,  107. 

prosperity  of,  27,  102. 
responsibility    of,   21,    22, 

23,  157,  183. 

representative  of,  98,  130. 
rights  of,  15. 
Inertia,  323,  327. 
Instincts,  218,  256,  260. 
Intellectual   phenomena,  221. 
Intellectual  nature,  247. 
Interdependence,  12. 
Interest,  as  motive,  198,  207, 
208,  214,  236,  237,  249, 
297. 
lack    of,    18,   34,   35,   83, 

201. 

Interests,  bias  caused  by,  160, 
192,  273,  328,  350. 


INDEX 


373 


Interests,  community  of,  13, 105, 
117,  192,  202,  303,  359. 

conflict  of,  29,  30,  58,  60, 
100,  124,  130,  137,  143, 
151,  181,  328,  345- 

differentiation     of,      124, 

143,   159- 
function  of,  292. 
group,  191,  339,  349- 
industrial,    124,    130,    160, 

330. 

local,  1 60. 
representation      of,      124, 

130. 

rate  of,  16. 
reciprocity    of,    204,    206, 

207. 
as    spiritual    force,     192, 

299,  30i,  3«>3,  328,  338, 

359- 
I.  W.  W.,  76,  257,  274. 


Joy,  200,  219,  223,  348. 
Justice,   32,   60,   66,   69,    119, 
Judicial  organization,  140, 153. 
153,  185,  206,  214,  359. 


Labor,  claims  of,  21,  22,  23, 

30,  55.  58,  59,  63,  64, 

69,  73.  95.  96,  107,  129- 

class  of,  30,  33,  69,  99, 
124. 

commodity  status  of,  28, 
58,  96,  115,  345- 

conditions  of,  19,  23,  27, 

30.  32,  39,  44,  48,  51, 

58,  64,  70,  83,  88,  113, 
198,  260. 

conflicting  tendencies  of, 

29,  30,  35,  48,  58,  60, 
357- 


Labor,  contribution  to  profits, 

102,  103,  104. 
cooperation  of,  3,  34,  43, 

88,  90,  124. 

division  of,  18,  54,  200. 
early  heroism  of,  29. 
goodwill  of,  42,  206. 
hours  of  work,  26,  64,  70, 

83- 

ideals  of,  64,  70. 
indifference  of,  18,  34,  35, 

42,  115,  358. 
misrepresentation     of 

178. 
new   status   of,    107,    115, 

139- 
organizations,   58-65,   100. 

See  also  Trade  unions, 
partnership    of,     14,     58, 

96,    100,    103,   104,   113, 

124,  205,  359. 
party,  63,  67,  71. 
profit  sharing  of,  103. 
prosperity    of,     27,     102, 

198,  359- 
responsibility   of,   39,   95, 

124,   126,   155,  205. 
representation,    139,    148, 

298. 

rights  of,  139. 
servitude  of,  25,  26,  96. 
skilled,  1 8,  34,  36. 
standard  of  living  of,  22, 

25.  59,  89,  95,  255- 
supply  of,  28,  29. 
wages  of.    See  Wages, 
safety  of,  19. 
security    of,    19,    70,    95, 

"3,  359- 

troubles,  30,  61,  358. 
unskilled,  23. 
unrest,  29,  31,  35,  49,  95, 

126,  127,  137. 


374 


INDEX 


Leadership,  16,  26,  33,  46,  82, 

119,  121,  157,  194,  195, 
205,  213,  215,  216,  298, 

354- 
Legislation,  13,  14,  17,  55,  99, 

33*- 

Liberation,  125,  156. 
Liberty,  23,  66,  73,  106,  116, 

120,  123,  156,  185,  341, 

347,  350,  354- 
Life,  collective,  30,  201,  349, 

359- 

end  of,  35,  198,  200,  201. 

individualistic,  198,  359. 

industrial,  199,  359. 

is  progress,  200,  359. 
Limitation,  13,  80,  99. 
Logic,  biotic,  227-229,  255-260. 

collective,  252. 

mystical,  239-246,  271-283. 

rational,  232,  247. 

sentimental,  230-235,  255- 

260. 
Logics,  221. 

functionalizing,  253. 
Love,  256. 

Love  of  the  game,  236,  237. 
Loyalty,  26,  90,  96,  123,  204- 
209,  237,  292,  338,  340. 
Lynn  plan,  140. 

Management,    autocratic,    26, 

43,  96,  115. 
committees  of,  310. 
cooperative,  122,  222,  303. 

362.     See   also   Works 

committees, 
deficiency  of,   19,  32,  37, 

39,  42,  43,  81. 
democratic,    43,    96,    122, 

126.     See   also   Works 

committees. 


Management,  employment,  44. 
function  of,  38,  40,  41,  42, 

47,  157- 

leadership  in,  157,  310. 

military,  26,  35,  40. 

paternalistic,  31. 

representation     of,      163, 
166-174. 

scientific,  40,  108,  129. 

systematized,  39. 

traditional,  38,  44. 

units  of,  41,  310. 

responsibility  of,  39,   156. 

staff  of,  39. 
Manager,  41,  46,  311. 
Master,  25,  73,  96. 
Mechanics,  288. 
Mental    contagion,    188,    236, 

275,  279- 

Mental  deformation,  193. 

Militarism,  26,  36,  96,  115. 

Minimum  wages,  22,  109. 

Minority,  74. 

Misrepresentation,  178. 

Mob,  187,  195. 

Monopoly,  50,  54,  95,  347. 

Monotony,  327. 

Morality,  180,  196. 

Motivation,  appeal  to  reason, 

247-250,  267,  282. 
appeal  to  sentiment,  261- 

270. 

control  of  opinion  and  be- 
liefs, 271-283. 
in  industry,  302,  315,  317, 

336. 

social,  343. 
stimuli   of  vital  energies, 

255-260. 

Motives,  appeals,  224,  225. 
balance  of,  251. 
beliefs    as,    77,    183,    185, 

192,  239-246. 


INDEX 


375 


Motives,  biotic,  222,  227,  343. 
classification  of,  222. 
compulsion,  36. 
of  conduct,  218. 
constraint,  219,  223,  224. 
desires,  222. 
directions,  224,  225. 
fatigue,  26,  40,  204,  219, 

257- 

fear,  37,  126,  259. 
function  of,  214,  292. 
interest  as,  37,   181,   198, 

201,  207,  208,  214,  236, 

237,  249,  297. 
lack  of,  82,  292. 
mystical,  77,  183,  185,  192, 

223,  239-246. 
outside,  223. 
pain,  219. 

pleasure,  201,  219,  228. 
prize  as,  122. 
rational,     195,    210,    223, 

247. 

restraint,  223,  225. 
sentimental,  90,   188,   196, 

198,  223,  230-238,  343, 

345- 

source  of,  219,  222. 
Mysticism,   belief   vs.   knowl- 
edge, 241. 

control    of    opinion,    271- 
283. 

definition  of,  239. 

development     of     beliefs, 
242. 

field  of,  223,  244,  345. 

influence  of,  239-246. 


National  Association  of  Man- 
ufacturers, 208. 

National  Industrial  Confer- 
ence Board,  98. 


National    Industrial    Council, 

130. 

National  Safety  Council,  21. 
National    War    Labor    Board, 

139,  140. 


Occupational  diseases,  30. 

Old  age,  22,  70. 

Opinions  and  beliefs,  239-246, 

271-283. 

Organic  desires,  222,  255-260. 
Organic  life,  227. 
Organization,    of    committees, 
166-174,  298,  309. 

of  labor,  52,  53,  55,  58-65, 
96,  140-144,  166-176. 

military,  26,  36. 

of  thought,  96,   116,  350. 

primitive,  II,  25. 

psychological,  187-199. 
Organizing  bodies,  352. 
Organizing  for  unity,  310. 


Pain,  55,  219,  229. 
Partnership,   14, 58,96, 103, 124. 
Passions,  262,  274,  330. 
Paternalism,  31,  104,  115,  357. 
Pension,  70,  95,  113. 
Personality,  179,  199,  206. 
Pleasure,    19,    201,    210,    219, 

228,  255,  257,  260,  327. 
Politics,  62,  67,  71,  82. 
Prestige,  15,  34,  236,  275,  279. 
Private  ownership,  15,  66,  67, 

99,  107. 
Production,  control  of,  13,  54, 

74,  107,  115. 
cooperatives  of,  86,  87. 
experimental,    13,    14,   56, 

79- 
factory,  12,18,19,23,25,26. 


376 


INDEX 


Production,  family,  23. 
financing,  16. 
for    general    interest,    13, 

69,  95,  96. 

government,  55,  56,  79. 

large  scale,  18,  23,  50. 

of  staples,  66. 

primitive,  II,  25,  26. 

standardized,  34,  54,  56. 
Professionalism,  193. 
Promotion  of  labor  represen- 
tation, 298. 
Proportional       representation, 

163- 
Profits,  17,  101,  105,  109,  117, 

200. 

Profiteering,  96,  101,  126. 
Profit  sharing,  86,  101,  104. 
Progress,  54,  64,  104,  200,  201, 

202,  214,  244,  325,  329, 

339.  353.  359- 
Psychology,   179. 
Psychological      organizations, 

187-197. 
Public,  190. 

Public  control,  13,  55,  79. 
Public  opinion,  157,  191,  347, 

351.  353- 
Pursuit,  economic,  199. 

social,  200,  202,  342,  349. 


Radicalism,  29,  62,  65,  71-78. 
Rational  logic,  210,  223,  247- 

250. 

Reason.     See  Rational  logic. 
Recreation,  260. 
Reformists,  67,  68. 
Relation — industrial,    46,    358, 

361. 

Representation,  139,  148,  163. 
Responsibility,   of  capital,  95, 

97,  183. 


Responsibility,  of  employer, 
16,  19,  31,  97,  "4,  156, 
183- 

of  entrepreneur,  157,  183. 

of  foreman,  39. 

of  industry,  21,  22,  23,  97, 

"4,  157- 

of  labor,  39,  124,  126,  155. 
of  management,   39,    156, 

183. 

of  society,   12. 
of  worker,  120. 
Restraint,  223. 
Revolutionists,  67,  71,  129. 


Safety,  19,  20. 
Sect,  192,  357. 
Security,  19,  84,  95. 
Self-assertion,  198,  199,  200. 
Selection,  47,  48,  325. 
Sensuous  pleasures,  260. 
Sentiment,   field  of,  223,  228, 

235- 
function  of,  233,  297,  323, 

343.  345- 
nature  of,  230. 
stimulus  of,  261-270. 
vs.  Reason,  232. 
Service,   12,   13,  90,  95,   101, 

1 08,    200,    202,    304,    341. 

Sex  instinct,  256. 
Sharing,  efficiency,  105. 

profits,  86,  103,  114. 

prosperity,  no. 

social  surplus,  106,  113. 
Shop  committees.    See  Works 

committees. 
Shop  steward,  127. 
Skill,  18,  19,  34,  38. 
Social    betterment,    104,    105, 

114,  340. 
Social  center,  352,  355. 


INDEX 


377 


Social  engineering,  114,  339- 
356. 

Social  ideals,  200,  359. 

Social  interference,  347. 

Socialism,  30,  66-78. 

Social  surplus,  104,  105,  114, 
202,  359. 

Society,  12,  100. 

Solidarity,  185,  350. 

Soviet,  77. 

Specialization,  18,  19,  38,  54, 
199,  201. 

Speculation,  14,  15. 

Spiritual  forces,  34,  116,  222, 
292,  294,  299,  313,  360. 
See  also  Ideals,  Inter- 
ests, Logics,  Loyalty, 
Morality,  Motives, 
Opinions,  Beliefs,  Tra- 
ditions. 

in  cooperatives,  90. 
in  state  socialism,  83. 

Spiritual  dynamics,  294. 
statics,  290. 

Staff  organization,  39. 

Standard,  18,  25,  34,  42,  55, 
95,  109,  255,  331. 

State,  74. 

socialism,  55,  56,  79. 

Stimulation,     collective,     297, 

315. 

Stimuli,  of  activity,  122,  201, 
219,  224,  235,  247,  261, 

295- 

of  loyalty,  206,  237. 
of  interest,  122,  225,  236, 

343- 
of  opinion,  225,  239,  271- 

283,  343- 

of  production,  235. 
of    sentiment,    225,    230, 

261-270. 
of  reason,  225. 


Stimuli,  of  vital  energy,  224, 

228,  255-260. 
Strike,  30,  61,  358. 
Subconscious,  221. 
Suggestion,  229,  261. 

making,  266,  275,  277. 
mediums  of,  264,  268,  281. 
mental     contagion,      188, 

236,  275,  279. 
openness  to,  228,  249,  268, 

276. 

power  of,  262. 
prestige  for,  183,  242,  243, 

264,  275,  279. 
repetition,  268,  277. 
system,  166. 
Supply  and  demand,    16,   28, 

29,  85,  109. 
Symbol,  313,  342. 
Syndicalism,  71-78. 


Trade  council,  130. 
Trade   unions,  52,   55,   58-65, 
96,  100,129,130,134,149. 
Traditions,  292,  302,  323-327, 

337,  345- 
Trusts,  53. 
Turn-over,  45,  48. 


Unemployment,  50,  70,  126. 
Union,  13,  116. 
Unit  organization,  150. 
Unrest,  29,  31,  35,  49,  95,  126, 

127,  137,  198,  358. 
Utopia,  66,  212. 


Value,  220,  248. 
Variation,  200,  323. 
Vital  phenomena,  221,  227. 
Vital  secret,  349,  350,  355. 


378 


INDEX 


Wages,  17,  22,  26,  27,  29,  42, 
50,  58,  62,  64,  70,  83, 
108,  112,  133,  151,  207, 

359- 

Wage  system,  73. 

Wants,  273. 

War  Labor  Board.  See  Na- 
tional War  Labor 
Board  and  Works  com- 
mittees. 

Welfare  works,  31,  95,  113. 
committee,  140,  172. 

Whitley  report,  129. 

Will,  220,  248. 

Worker.    See  Labor. 

Workmen's  Compensation  Bu- 
reau, 21. 

Works     committees,     arbitra- 
tion, 140,  153. 
constitution       of,        161, 

303- 

description  of,  140-144, 
166-174. 

differentiation  of  inter- 
ests, 130,  143,  159. 

discussion  of,  136,  146. 

functions  of,  127,  131, 
134,  144,  153,  164,  270, 
308,  359. 

industrial  democracy,  139, 
142. 


Works   committees,  industrial 

government,  133. 
in  America,  139. 
in  England,  126. 
on  industrial  engineering, 

333- 
leadership    in,    157,    298, 

333- 

local  vs.  national  organ- 
ization, 147,  332. 

organization  of,  140-144, 
166-174. 

powers  of,  161,  164. 

present  extension  of,  136. 

proportional  representa- 
tion, 163. 

promotion  of,  298,  309. 

prospective  development 
of,  332. 

purpose  of,  132,  362. 

results  of,  144. 

secretary  to,  165. 

settlement  of  differences 
through,  153. 

shop  steward,  127. 

trade  council,  130,  332. 

unit  organization,  150. 

War  Labor  Board,  140. 

Whitley  Report,  130. 

works  councils,  140,  144, 
SOS- 


ni  »•-* 


A    001  345  592 


